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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


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PERUVIAN 

ANTIQUITIES. 


BY 


.,  y 

MARIANO  EDWARD  RIVBRO, 

DIRECTOR    OP    THE    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   LIMA,   AND    CORRESPONDING    MEMBER    OF 
VARIOUS   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES   IN  EUROPE   AND  AMERICA 


JOHN  JAMES  YON  TSCHUDI, 

DOCTOR  IN  PHILOSOPHY,   MEDICINE,   AND    SURGERY,   ETC.,    ETC.,   AND    MEMBER    OP 

VARIOUS    SOCIETIES    OP    MEDICINE,   NATURAL  HISTORY,    GEOGRAPHY, 

AND  AGRICULTURE. 


TRANSLATED  INTO  ENGLISH,  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  SPANISH, 


BY 


FEANCIS  L.  HAWKS,  D.D.,  LL.  D. 


NEW    YOEK: 

GEORGE  P.  PUTNAM  &  CO.,  I  0  PARK  PLACE. 
1853. 


PRESERVATION 
COPY  ADDED 
ORIGINAL  TO  B£ 
RETAINED 


^  I 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

GEORGE  P.  PUTNAM  &  CO., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


E.   O.  JENKINS,   STEREOTYPER    AND    PRINT&K, 
114  Nassau  Street. 


"'      " 
Tfsr  • 


DEDICATION. 


TO 

THE    SOVEREIGN    CONGRESS 

OF   PERU. 

CENTURIES  have  passed  without  the  possession  by  Peru 
of  a  collection  of  such  of  her  ancient  architectural  monu 
ments,  as  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  time,  avarice,  and 
superstition.  These  silent,  yet  eloquent,  witnesses  reveal  the 
history  of  past  successes,  and  demonstrate  the  intelligence, 
power,  and  grandeur  of  the  nation  once  ruled  by  our  Incas. 

To  us  has  fallen  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  present 
them  in  this  work  (the  fruit  of  some  years'  labor),  though  not 
as  extensively  and  perfectly  as  we  have  desired;  and  to 
dedicate  it  to  the  national  sovereignty,  in  the  hope  that  it 
will  be  deemed  worthy  of  a  kind  reception. 

Will  your  Honorable  Body  accept  this  slight  tribute  of 
our  diligence,  and  the  respectful  consideration  of 
Your  faithful  and  obedient  servants, 

MARIANO  EDUARDO  DE  EIVERO. 
DR.  JOHN  JAMES  VON  TSCHUDI. 


INTRODUCTORY     NOTE, 

BY  THE   TRANSLATOR. 

IN  the  prosecution  of  researches  made  in  the  preparation 
of  a  work  on  the  antiquities  of  America  generally,  it  became 
necessary  to  examine  the  book  of  which  a  translation  is  here 
presented  to  the  reader.  On  its  perusal,  it  was  found  to 
contain,  with  much  that  has  already  been  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  English  reader,  by  Mr.  Prescott,  in  his  History  of  the 
Conquest  of  Peru,  much  also  that  did  not  fall  within  the 
design  of  his  admirable  work,  and  is  not  generally  accessible 
in  our  language.  The  book  possessed  also  additional  interest 
from  the  fact  that  it  was,  in  part  at  least,  the  production  of 
a  native  Peruvian  of  Spanish  origin,  who,  it  is  believed,  had 
no  native  predecessor  in  any  similar  work  but  Grarcilasso  de 
la  Vega,  who  published  the  first  part  of  his  Commentaries  in 
1609,  and  finished  the  latter  in  1616.  We  have  then  here 
the  last  account  of  Peru  by  a  native,  at  a  date  as  late  as 
1851 ;  and  a  more  particular  description  of  its  most  an 
cient  architectural  remains  than  is  to  be  found  elsewhere. 
These  circumstances  led  the  translator  to  think  that  the  book 
would  possess  an  interest  for  his  countrymen,  and  induced 
him  to  devote  such  leisure  as  he  could  snatch  from  more 
serious  employments  to  the  task  of  clothing  the  original  in 
an  English  dress. 


PREFACE. 


THE  history  of  nations,  or  of  the  times  in  which  they 
flourished,  does  not  interest,  simply  by  showing  the  degree 
of  power  and  culture  to  which  they  attained,  and  the  means 
by  which  they  were  able  to  subjugate  or  aggrandize  those 
who  were  ruled ;  but  also,  by  instructing  us  in  the  progres 
sive  steps  of  commerce,  arts,  and  sciences;  those  mighty 
agents  which  enlarge  the  understanding,  develop  the  riches 
of  nature,  remove  obstacles,  and  prepare  a  people  for  the 
enjoyment  of  rational  liberty. 

The  code  which  governed  the  ancient  Peruvian  nation, 
dictated  by  its  founder,  Manco-Capac,  and  amplified  by  his 
successors,  laid  the  foundations  of  that  public  happiness,  of 
which  for  some  centuries  his  descendants  have  been  deprived : 
but  it  was  not  the  basis  of  that  political  liberty  which  moves 
men,  inspires  great  thoughts,  diffuses  light,  and  enlarges  the 
limits  of  human  knowledge. 

Its  theocratical  government  took  care  that  the  worship  of 
the  divinity  which  they  adored,  throughout  the  entire  king 
dom,  should  not  languish ;  it  was  a  means  which,  as  in  all 
the  most  enlightened  monarchies  of  the  old  world,  was  called 
in,  to  give  security  to  political  power: — that  public  morality 
should  not  be  relaxed  by  the  toleration  of  disorder  : — that 
agriculture  and  industry  should  be  advanced  : — that  public 
works  should  be  constructed  and  preserved : — and  finally, 
1*  (Q) 


X  PREFACE. 

that  no  one  should  be  without  occupation,  and  useless  alike 
to  the  State  and  his  fellow-men.  Kings  and  priests  at  the 
same  time,  the  sovereigns  ruled,  in  the  name  of  the  Sun,  with 
an  absolute  independence ;  but  were  not,  on  this  account, 
placed  above  the  laws  of  justice  and  humanity. 

To  study,  therefore,  institutions  so  beneficent,  on  the  very 
spot  where  they  existed ;  to  examine  their  archaeological 
monuments ;  to  obtain  an  exact  knowledge  of  their  idiom, 
religion,  laws,  sciences  and  customs,  as  well  as  all  that  relates 
to  the  empire  of  the  Andes,  was  the  plan  which  we  proposed 
to  pursue,  by  traversing  the  land  of  the  Incas. 

There  were  many  obstacles  opposed  to  the  successful 
accomplishment  of  our  enterprise.  1.  The  political  dissen 
sions  which  have  succeeded  each  other,  keeping  the  country 
in  constant  alarm.  2.  The  diversities  of  climate,  the  bad, 
and  indeed  impassable  roads  of  the  coast  and  the  Cordilleras, 
the  dangers  to  be  encountered  and  overcome  in  visiting  long 
abandoned  sites,  the  close,  thick  forests,  in  which  nature 
with  such-  prodigality  shows  her  profusion  and  fertilizing 
power,  presenting  trees  which  almost  seem  to  serve  as  props 
to  the  vault  of  heaven.  3.  The  total  want  of  an  itinerarv, 
or  of  well-informed  guides  who  might  indicate  to  us  localities 
or  antiquities  worthy  of  observation : — but  nothing  could 
prevent  us  from  prosecuting  our  design  of  presenting  to  the 
public  a  work  on  the  antiquities  of  Peru. 

In  1841,  speaking  of  this  subject,  we  said :  "We  hope  some 
day  to  have  the  satisfaction  of  communicating  to  our  coun 
trymen  that  the  collection  is  complete  and  published,  which, 
in  our  view,  is  a  work  of  some  importance."  An  aspiration 
whic  ',  after  ten  years,  has  been  realized,  but  not  without 
immense  labor  and  great  pecuniary  sacrifices. 

During  some  years  we  have  studied  ancient  monuments, 
gathering,  with  great  solicitude,  all  the  curiosities  of  the 


PREFACE.  XI 

times  of  the  Incas  which  we  could  collect,  and  giving  orders 
for  the  designing  arid  painting  of  all  those  which  were  in  the 
possession  of  individuals,  whether  Peruvians  or  foreigners. 
Having  finished  this  toilsome  work,  we  sought,  of  the  Peru 
vian  government,  aid  to  publish  it :  not  being  able  alone  to 
undertake  an  enterprise  so  expensive.  The  sum  which  was 
granted  us  was  so  small  that  it  did  not  suffice  even  to  make 
copies  of  some  of  the  plates,  and  consequently  the  manuscript 
remained  in  its  case  until  1850. 

Determined  that,  even  at  the  cost  of  some  sacrifices,  Peru 
and  other  nations  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  collection 
we  had  made,  which  gives,  to  the  first  named  at  least,  an 
accurate  idea  of  the  power  of  its  monarchs  and  the  industry 
of  its  subjects,  we  wrote  to  Don  Francisco  de  Kivero,  charge 
d'affaires  from  the  Peruvian  Kepublic  near  the  court  of  her 
Britannic  Majesty,  that  it  should  be  published  on  an  agree 
ment  made  with  Dr.  Von  Tschudi.  How  great  were  those 
pecuniary  sacrifices,  the  reader  may  easily  determine  by  a 
glance  at  the  beautiful  volume  of  plates  which  accompanies 
the  text.* 

After  the  preparation  of  the  plates  had  been  commenced 
by  one  of  the  most  distinguished  artists  of  Vienna,  we  were 
informed  that  he  could  not  proceed  with  the  impression, 
because  of  the  increased  price  both  of  paper  and  labor,  aris 
ing  from  the  political  troubles  of  the  past  year,  which  had 
produced  a  great  reaction  in  all  the  kingdoms  of  Europe. 


*  An  atlas  of  fifty-eight  large  plates,  most  of  them  colored,  and  all 
beautifully  executed,  accompanies  the  original  work.  From  this,  our 
illustrations  have  been  taken,  in  a  sufficient  number,  we  hope,  to  make 
plain  the  text  when  the  aid  of  the  pencil  is  required.  To  have  copied  all, 
would  have  made  our  English  version  as  costly  as  the  original,  and  placed 
it  beyond  the  reach  of  most  readers. — [TRANSLATOR.] 


Xli  PREFACE. 

New  disbursements  had  therefore  to  be  made  for  the  con 
tinuance  of  the  work. 

At  all  times,  the  government,  which  has  watched  with 
interest  the  progress  of  everything  having  for  its  laudable 
object  the  instruction  of  the  masses,  and  tlie  procuring  of 
exact  particulars  concerning  our  history,  commerce,  arts  or 
industry,  has  protected  and  fostered  enterprises  tending  to 
these  results.  The  larger  number  of  administrations  in  the 
republic  of  Peru,  having  among  them  distinguished  men, 
have  been  animated  by  proper  sentiments  and  desires  ;  and 
so  much  the  more,  as  it  was  seen  that  the  republic  of  Chili 
had  ordered  the  publication  of  its  natural  and  political  history, 
by  the  indefatigable  Mr.  Gay ;  and  that  Bolivia  had  favored, 
to  the  extent  of  her  ability,  the  interesting  works  of  the 
naturalist,  D'Orbigny ;  but  these  feelings  and  wishes  of  our 
successive  administrations  have  been  lamentably  unproduc 
tive,  because  of  the  anarchy  which  has  prevailed  in  the 
country  for  so  many  yearns.  Without  doubt,  a  beginning  has 
now  been  made  to  supply  in  part  the  want  above  alluded  to. 

Dr.  Yon  Tschudi.  a  member  of  various  scientific  bodies, 
and  a  distinguished  European  traveller,  published  in  1846 
and  1848  his  investigations  in  the  Peruvian  Fauna;  a  work 
in  folio,  of  seven  hundred  pages,  and  of  seventy-two  illustra 
tive  plates,  which  treats  of  the  quadrupeds,  birds,  reptiles 
and  fishes  of  Peru,  as  well  as  of  other  topics  (antiquities, 
philology  and  medicine),  being  very  valuable  on  the  subject 
of  the  primitive  races  of  South  America.  Mr.  Prescott,  too, 
with  his  accustomed  masterly  skill,  has  given  us  a  history  of 
the  conquest,  with  documents  and  interesting  details. 

It  is  gratifying  to  us  to  record  the  interest  which  Don 
Manuel  Ferreyros  and  Don  Francisco  de  Eivero  have  shown 
in  the  publication  of  this  work ;  the  generosity  with  which 
Messrs.  Weddel,  Kugendas,  and  Pentlandt  have  freely  fur- 


PREFACE.  xiii 

nished  sketches  and  designs,  and  the  care  of  Dr.  Yon  Tschudi 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  text  which  was  sent  to  him  from 
Peru,  adding  thereto  observations  on  the  Peruvian  crania, 
Quichuan  language,  religion,  &c.,  which  were  suggested  by 
his  own  knowledge,  his  extensive  learning,  and  the  abundant 
books  and  manuscripts  of  the  imperial  library  of  Vienna, 
which  he  could  freely  consult — elements,  alas !  wanting  in 
Peru. 

It  was  not  our  sole  object  to  give  a  description  of  the 
ruins  of  sumptuous  edifices,  the  sad  remains  of  the  grandeur 
and  power  of  the  Incas,  of  their  idols,  and  manufactures 
found  in  the  huacas  and  mounds ;  but  also  of  the  fall  of  a 
nation  made  deeply  interesting  by  its  tragical  history. 

The  description  of  its  political  institutions,  its  religious 
system,  of  its  ceremonies,  the  arts  and  sciences  cultivated  by 
the  Peruvians,  may  offer  to  investigators  aid  in  their  labors, 
by  dispelling  errors  which  are  found  at  every  step  in  the 
writings  of  authors,  ancient  and  modern,  who  have  trans 
mitted  to  us  the  verbal  relations  of  individuals  whom  they 
considered  well  informed. 

We  are  not  of  the  number  of  those  blind  admirers  of  the 
ancient  Peruvian  culture  who  have  exaggerated  the  political 
institutions  of  the  Incas,  and  the  progress  which  their  subjects 
had  made  in  the  arts  and  sciences  ;  but  as  little  are  we  to  be 
classed  with  those  historians  who  deny  the  development  of 
the  faculties  in  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  Peru,  and  con 
sider  the  narratives  of  the  old  Spanish  chroniclers  on  this 
point  as  mere  fables. 

A  conscientious  comparison  of  these  narratives  with  the 
remains  of  Peruvian  antiquity,  and  the  deductions  thence 
made,  form  the  basis  of  this  work.  We  know  full  well  that 
we  are  not  here  offering  to  the  public  a  work  which  exhausts 
the  rich  material  in  which  we  have  labored.  The  difficultv 


XIV  PREFACE. 

of  these  investigations,  the  want  of  true  translations  of  the 
quippus  in  which  were  preserved  the  remarkable  events  of 
Peruvian  history  and  the  particulars  of  its  statistics,  and  the 
immense  expense  which  works  of  this  kind  involve,  can  only 
be  overcome  by  the  joint  labors  of  the  learned,  and  the 
powerful  aid  of  the  government.  We  will  not  doubt  (to 
recur  to  our  work)  that  the  Peruvian  nation  will  appreciate 
our  humble  toils  and  our  pecuniary  sacrifices  ;  and  that  they 
will  know  how  to  excuse  some  slight  typographical  imper 
fections,  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  printing  the  book 
in  a  city  where  the  Spanish  language  is  a  foreign  tongue.* 

*  The  original  was  printed  in  Vienna,  for  the  sake,  we  presume,  of  Dr. 
Von  Tschudi's  supervision. — [TRANSLATOR.] 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

RELATIONS     BETWEEN    THE    TWO    HEMISPHERES,     PRIOR    TO    THE     DISCOVERT  BY 

COLUMBUS. 

PAGE 

Expedition  of  Bjarne  Herjulfson  to  America,           .        .        .        .        .  3 

Expedition  of  Leif  Erikson,          ........  4 

"          of  Thorwald  Erikson,             4 

"          of  Thorstein  Erikson, 4 

»      "          of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  and  Snorri  Thorbrandson,           .        .  4 

"          of  Helge  and  Finneboge,             5 

Arc  Marson  in  Huitramannaland,             5 

History  of  Bjorn  Asbrandson 6 

Voyage  of  Gudleif  Gudlangson 7 

Hypothesis  of  Rabbi  Manasseh  Ben  Israel.           .         .        ...  8 

Proofs  of  a  Jewish  immigration  to  America,    ......  9 

Hebrew  words  in  the  American  languages, 10 

Hypothesis  of  Don  Pablo  Felix  de  Cabrera. 11 

Document  of  Votan, 12 

Explanation  of  the  document  by  Cabrera, 13 

Hypothesis  of  M.  de  Guignes, "  10 

Investigations  of  M.  de  Paravey, \r. 

Analogies  in  religions  of  Buddha  and  Mexico, 17 

The  Peruvian  Trimurti,            lg 

Analogies  in  Christianity  and  Buddhism, 19 

Mexican  priesthood, 20 

Csv) 


XVi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   II. 

ANCIENT   INHABITANTS   OF  PERU. 

Conformation  of  Peruvian  crania, 26 

First  form, 26 

Second  form, 27 

Third  form, .        .        .    '    .  27 

Proportions  of  the  crania,              28 

Geographical  distribution  of  the  different  races, 31 

Configuration  of  the  crania  of  the  present  Indians,      .        .        .        .  34 

Proof  that  the  form  is  not  the  result  of  mechanical  pressure,          .        .  36 

Osteological  anomaly  in  the  Peruvian  crania,      .  38 

Note  on  the  Peruvian  crania  in  Dr.  Morton's  work.          ....  40 

CHAPTER   III. 

CONSIDERATIONS    ON    THE     HISTORY    OF     PERU,    BEFORE     THE    ARRIVAL    OF  THE 

SPANIARDS. 

Origin  of  the  Peruvian  monarchy  from  Garcilasso,      ....  42 

Biographical  notice  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega, 45 

The  sources  from  which  he  drew  as  an  author, 47 

His  partiality, 47 

Catalogue  of  Peruvian  monarchs, 49 

Descendants  of  the  Incas  according  to  the  canon  Sahuaura,     ...  50 

Works  of  the  licentiate  Fernando  Montesinos, 51 

Chronological  table  of  Peruvian  Kings,  by  Montesinos,    ....  52 

Critique  on  the  memoirs  of  Montesinos, 65 

History  of  the  conquest  of  Peru,  by  Prescott, 66 

Considerations' on  the  first  Inca,            .......  67 

Fables  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Incas, 68 

Extent  of  the  empire  under  Huayna-Capac,         .        .        .        .        .  69 

Its  population,         .........  .69 

Diminution  of  population,     ...               70 

CHAPTER   IV. 

SYSTEM  OF   GOVERNMENT,   OR  POLITICAL  INSTITUTIONS   OF  THE   INCAS. 

Authority  of  the  Peruvian  monarchs, 74 

Form  of  government,           ....  75 


CONTENTS.  XV11 

Veneration  of  the  Monarchs  by  their  subjects, 75 

Concubines  of  the  Inca, 76 

Titles  of  the  royal  family, 77 

Court  of  the  Sovereign, 77 

The  Peruvian  aristocracy, 78 

Education  of  the  blood  royal, 79 

The  name  of  Peru,          , ' .        .  80 

Division  of  the  Provinces  and  population, 80 

Administrative  organization, 81 

Peruvian  agriculture. 82 

The  order  in  which  they  worked  the  earth, 82 

The  tribute  and  mode  of  collecting  it, 84 

Laws  of  polity, 85 

Civil  laws, 87 

Military  system  of  the  Incas,            88 

Policy  of  Incas  toward  conquered  provinces, 88 

CHAPTER   V. 

THE    QUICHUAN   LANGUAGE. 

The  American  languages, .        .        .92 

Influence  of  foreign  immigration?  on  the  languages  of  the  American  aborigines,  93 

Analogy  of  American  words  with  those  of  the  eastern  continent,    .        .  94 

Number  of  the  American  languages, 96 

Differences  between  neighboring  idioms, 97 

Common  characteristics  of  all  the  American  languages,       ...  98 

The  conjugation  of  the  personal  object,  or  transition,      ....  99 

Particular  use  of  the  pronouns, 100 

Composition  of  words  by  means  of  an  affix, 101 

Hieroglyphics  among  the  American  nations, 103 

Chronological  list  of  Quichua  grammars, 104 

Writing  of  the  ancient  Peruvians, 105 

Hieroglyphics, 106 

Quippos, 109 

Specimens  of  Quichua  literature,             112 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  Quichua, 113 

Specimen  of  a  sermon  by  Don  Fernando  de  Avendano,  .        .        .        .114 

The  Peruvian  poets  or  Haravicus, 115 

The  Haravis, 115 

Dramatic  poetry, 115 


XV111  CONTENTS. 

Specimens  of  the  drama  Ollanta,             116 

Dialects  of  the  Quichua  language, 117 

CHAPTER   VI. 

SCIENTIFIC  CULTURE   UNDER  THE   DYNASTY   OF  THE   INCAS. 

The  amautas  or  sages, 125 

Peruvian  medical  knowledge,            . 126 

Practice  of  surgery 12G 

Mathematics  and  astronomy, 12  G 

The  Peruvian  year, 130 

The  months, 131 

Navigation,            135 

Three  haravis, 137 

Instrumental  music, 143 

Species  of  Pandean  pipe, 143 

Tunes  of  their  songs, 145 

Dramatic  representations, .  145 

Music,            . 145 

CHAPTER   VII. 

RELIGIOUS   SYSTEM   OF  THE   ENCAS. 

Primitive  worship  of  the  Peruvians, 146 

Con, 147 

Paehacamac, 152 

The  worship  of  Pachacamac, 153 

Policy  of  the  Incas  with  reference  to  this  worship,           ....  154 

Sayings  of  the  Incas  as  to  worship  of  the  Sun, 155 

Deities  of  the  ancient  Peruvians,      ......  156 

The  Sun, 157 

Virgins  of  the  Sun, 158 

Selected  Virgins,          .        .        , 158 

The  Moon, jgg 

The  Stars, 161 

Deities  of  the  Elements,           .......  161 

Terrestrial  deities, Id 

Historical  deities, .  153 

Viracocha, 163 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

Che  Incas, 1G4 

The  Huacas, 168 

The  worship  of  the  Sun, 157 

The  gods  of  families,  or  individuals, .  171 

The  Conopas, 172 

Mode  of  examining  wizards  prescribed  by  Archbishop  Villa  Gomez,   .  174 

Divination  by  external  objects, 17 G 

Analogy -of  Peruvian  ceremonies  with  Christian  sacraments,       .        .  179 

Baptism,            180 

Confirmation, 181 

Penance, 181 

The  Eucharist, 182 

Extreme  unction, 182 

Holy  orders, 182 

Matrimony, 184 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES. 

The  festival,  Raymi, 187 

Sacrifices, 189 

The  Mosoc  Nina,   .  ,190 

The  festival,  Situa,   .                 190 

The  driving  out  of  infirmities. 192 

The  festival,  Cusquie  Raymi, 192 

The  festival  of  knighthood,  or  Huaracu, 192 

The  other  festivals, 193 

Offerings  presented  to  the  Gods, 194 

Human  sacrifices, 19.~> 

Sacrifices  of  animals, 197 

"        of  vegetables, 198 

"        of  minerals, 198 

Mode  of  burying  the  dead, 19!) 

The  kings, 200 

Rich  vassals, 200 

The  common  people, 201 

Provisions  buried  with  the  dead, 202 

Different  kinds  of  corn, 202 

Mode  of  enveloping  the  body, 203 

The  art  of  embalming,          . 204 


XX  CONTENTS. 

Refutation  of  the  opinion  of  Barreda  on  this  subject,      ....    205 
Natural  mummification. 207 


CHAPTER   IX. 

STATE   OF  THE   ARTS  AMONG  THE   ANCIENT   PERUVIANS. 

Importance  of  a  critical  examination  of  ancient  monuments,           .    •     .  210 

The  art  of  cutting  stone, 212 

Weapons, 212 

Knowledge  of  metallurgy  among  the  ancient  Peruvians,      .        .        .  213 
Quantity  of  silver  and  gold  exported  by  the  Spaniards,           .        .        .213 

Gold,     . 214 

Silver, 215 

Copper, 215 

Quicksilver, 215 

Cinnabar, ?  •                 .  216 

Artistic  use  of  the  metals, 216 

Plating 217 

Gilding, 217 

Plated  works, 218 

Riches  of  palaces,  temples  and  gardens  of  gold, 218 

Manufactures  of  copper, 222 

The  art  of  spinning  and  weaving, 223 

Tanning, 224 

The  Peruvian  Potters, 225 

The  principles  of  moulding, 226 

Peruvian  modelling, 226 

Vases  and  Conopas, 227 

Sacred  vessels  with  designs, 228 

The  art  of  painting, 228 

Peruvian  architecture, , 229 

Stone  hewing, 230 

Stones  of  the  fortification  of  Ollantay-Tambo, 231 

Size  of  the  stones  at  Tiahuanaco, 232 

Mode  of  transporting  the  stones, 232 

Mortar, 232 

Particular  houses, 233 

The  Tambos, 235 

The  Royal  Storehouses,            •••.....         .  235 

The  play-houses, 236 


CONTENTS. 

The  Baths, 236 

The  Royal  palaces, 237 

The  monasteries, .  240 

The  Temples, 241 

The  Fortifications,  246 

The  Fortress  of  Cuzco, 246 

The  small  fortress  of  Huichay, 249 

Hydraulics  among  the  ancient  Peruvians, 250 

The  azequias  or  canals  for  irrigation, 251 

The  Bridges, 251 

Opinion  of  Raynal  on  works  of  the  ancient  Peruvians.  .        .        .  252 


CHAPTER   X. 

ANCIENT   MONUMENTS. 

The  Royal  roads. 254 

Description  of  them  by  Sarmiento, 255 

"        by  Ci§ea  de  Leon 256 

"        Zarrate, 258 

"        Juan  Botero  Benes, 260 

"        Juan  de  Velasco, 260 

Humboldt,    . 261 

Extent  of  these  roads. 263 

Ruins  of  the  palaces  of  Chimu. 264 

Antiquities  found  in  these  palaces, 266 

Ruins  of  Cuelap, 272 

"        of  Old  Huanuco, .        .        .        .276 

Tower  of  Chupan. 280 

Ruins  of  fortifications,  department -of  Lurin,            .        .        .        .        .  281 

Castle  of  Masor,            281 

Ruins  of  Chacabamba, 282 

Ancient  edifice  in  Chavin  de  Huanta.            282 

Castle  on  the  ridge  of  Posoc,            283 

Reflections  on  the  destruction  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas,            .        .  284 

Ruins  of  Paramanca 286 

Ruins  of  the  •''  coptras  "  about  Chancaylla, 287 

Ruins  of  Pachacamac, .  288 

Ruins  about  Huamanga  and  Vilcas,     .......  291 

Hills  of  Clustoni,      ....  292 


CONTENTS. 

Ruins  of  Hatuncolla,            292 

Ruins  of  Tiahuanco, 293 

Gigantic  head, 295 

Monolythic  gateways, .        .         .296 

Ruins  on  the  island  of  Titicaca,            297 

"         on  the  island  of  Coati, 298 

"        of  Ollantay-Tambo, 298 

Traditions  concerning  Ollantay,            299 

Construction  of  the  fortress. 300 

Remains  of  antiquity  in  the  city  of  Cuzco, 302 

Conclusion.                                                                                                 .  304 


CHAPTEK    I. 

OF  THE     RELATIONS    EXISTING    BETWEEN   THE    TWO   HEMIS 
PHERES,    BEFORE   THE   DISCOVERIES   OF  COLUMBUS. 

AMONG  all  the  sciences  which  are  involved  in  the  study  of 
history,  none  exceeds  in  importance  archaeology,  or  the  know 
ledge  of  the  monuments  of  antiquity ;  a  science  which, 
drawn  by  the  industrious  and  ingenious  labor  of  modern 
times  from  its  chrysalis  state,  or  that  period  of  infant  weak 
ness  common  to  all  sciences,  has  proceeded  to  tear  away  the 
veil  which  covered  past  ages,  synthetically  to  reconstruct  the 
events  of  remote  periods,  and  to  supply  the  scarcity  or  total 
absence  of  chronicle  and  tradition.  Throughout  the  whole 
Western  hemisphere,  numerous  works  of  art,  like  so  many 
indelible  pages,  show  to  the  observant  traveller  the  genius, 
the  occurrences,  and  the  splendor  of  ancient  America,  with 
more  truth  and  eloquence  than  all  the  worm-eaten  manu 
scripts  which  sleep  in  our  archives ;  so  that,  like  shining 
torches,  they  conduct  the  philosophical  historian  through  the 
darkness  which  involves  the  past  centuries,  in  which  were 
developed  the  first  human  associations  of  the  New  World. 

When,  led  by  that  intrepid  and  skilful  navigator,  Chris 
topher  Columbus,  the  Spaniards  first  trod  the  shores  of  a 
world,  till  then,  to  them  unknown,  they  supposed  that  the 
vast  regions  they  had  found  were  inhabited  by  a  race  of  un 
cultivated  savages  only.  Ere  long,  however,  they  were  un- 

1  C1) 


2  PERU. 

deceived  by  further  explorations,  and  became  convinced  that 
the  nations  which  they  had  vanquished  possessed  a  certain 
amount  of  cultivation,  and  of  interesting  memorials. 

In  the  ten  years  immediately  succeeding  the  conquest,  cer 
tain  zealous  individuals,  members  for  the  most  part  of  the  re 
ligious  orders,  devoted  themselves  to  the  work  of  describing 
the  physical  aspect  of  the  newly  discovered  regions,  of  re 
counting  the  acts  of  the  Europeans  in  the  New  World,  and 
of  collecting  the  traditions  and  memorials  of  the  subdued 
races ;  endeavoring  from  these  to  write  a  methodical 
history,  which  should  illustrate  the  principal  occurrences  of 
those  vast  regions  which  had  yielded  to  the  valor  and  skill  of 
the  people  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere.  But  this  under 
taking  was  very  difficult,  since  the  history  had  for  its  sole 
foundation  the  traditions  of  the  conquered,  confused,  contra 
dictory,  often  mixed  with  fables  and  myths,  and  at  times 
wilfully  perverted  and  falsified,  so  that  it  was  not  only  dif 
ficult,  but  in  fact  almost  impossible  to  shed  light  on  such  a  cha 
os  ;  it  is  therefore  not  strange  that  but  little  fruit  was  gathered 
from  the  toilsome  labors  of  men,  however  distinguished,  who 
were  necessarily  lost  in  a  labyrinth  so  dark  and  intricate. 
Modern  effort,  however,  has  been  more  fortunate ;  and  it  has 
been  the  privilege  of  our  age  to  have  dissipated,  in  part,  the 
darkness  which  shrouded  the  antiquity  of  the  Western  hem 
isphere  ;  and  (thanks  to  the  persevering  researches  of  the 
learned  of  our  times)  it  now  appears  indisputably,  that  be 
fore  the  coming  of  Columbus,  there  had  been  communication 
between  the  two  hemispheres. 

''  What  were  the  relations  between  them;  and  what  nations 
visited  America  in  remote  epochs?"  Such  are  the  questions 
which  naturally  present  themselves,  and  which  we  will  en 
deavor  to  answer  with  some  particularity. 

It  is  supposed  that  various  nations  or  stranger  tribes  have 


PERUVIAN"  ANTIQUITIES.  3 

invaded  the  American  continent ;  and  in  support  of  this  opin 
ion,  there  have  been  alleged  proofs  founded,  either  on  irre 
futable  historic  dates,  on  inductions  drawn  from  the  religion, 
the  monuments,  the  physical  constitution,  and  the  languages 
of  the  people  of  the  New  World,  or  on  contemporaneous  his 
torical  occurrences  in  the  two  hemispheres. 

In  discussing  these  proofs,  alike  ingenious  and  learned,  we 
will  begin  with  the  northeastern  part  of  North  America, 
which,  of  itself  alone,  offers  one  irrefutable  proof. 

It  is  now  some  twelve  years  since  the  Secretary  of  the  So 
ciety  of  Antiquaries  of  Copenhagen,  Mr.  Charles  Christian 
Rafn,  described,  according  to  Scandinavian  manuscripts,  pub 
lished  in  the  u  Antiquitates  Americance"  the  first  voyages 
which  the  Scandinavians  made  to  America  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries  of  our  era :  the  accounts  of  these  voyages 
were  probably  compiled  in  the  twelfth  century,  by  the  learn 
ed  Bishop  THORLAK  KUNOLFSON,  author  of  the  most  ancient 
ecclesiastical  code  of  Iceland,  and  grandson  of  THOR- 
YINN  KARLSEFNE,  who  led  one  of  the  most  considerable 
expeditions  that  sailed  for  the  Western  hemisphere. 
From  these  it  appears  that  in  the  year  986,  BJARNE 
HERJULFSON,  voyaging  from  Iceland  to  Greenland, 
sailed  along  the  eastern  coast  of  America.  Stimulated 
by  BJARNE'S  representations  on  his  return,  LEIF,  eldest 
son  of  ERIC  THE  BED,  purchased  his  ship,  and  in  the 
year  1000,  set  out  with  thirty-five  companions  to  make  dis 
coveries.  LEIF  reached  the  coast  which  had  been  discov 
ered  by  BJARNE,  and  named  it  Helluland  (at  this  day  New 
foundland);  sailing  thence,  he  arrived  on  a  mountainous 
coast  which  he  called  MarMand  (now  known  as  Nova  Scotia, 
New  Brunswick,  and  Canada) ;  thence  proceeding,  he  reached 
a  very  pleasant  shore,  when  an  individual  of  the  expedition, 
a  German,  named  TYRKER,  found  an  abundance  of  good 


4  PERU. 

grapes ;  and  in  consequence  of  that.  LEIF  named  the  country 
YINLAND  (the  land  of  the  vine),  a  country  which  at  this  day 
corresponds  to  the  coast  between  Cape  Sable  and  Cape  Cod. 
He  then  returned  to  Greenland,  and  in  the  following  summer 
(1002)  his  brother,  THOWALD  ERICSON,  undertook  a  new 
voyage  in  the  same  vessel :  he  visited  the  regions  that  had 
already  been  discovered  by  his  brother,  and  penetrated  fur 
ther  yet  in  the  summer  of  1004  ;  and  about  Cape  Cod  (south 
east  of  the  present  city  of  Boston)  he  had  an  encounter 
with  the  Skrellings  (Esquimaux),  in  which,  receiving  an  ar 
row-wound  under  the  arm,  he  died,  and  was  buried  at  what 
is  now  known  as  Gurnet's  Point,  a  place  which  he  himself 
had  pointed  out  for  his  burial,  and  which,  at  the  request  of 
the  dying  man,  was  called  KROSSANES  (Point  of  the  Cross). 
In  the  summer  of  1006,  THORSTEIN,  the  third  son  of  ERIC, 
undertook  an  expedition  to  the  same  regions ;  his  attempt 
was  unfortunate,  for  he  was  not  able  to  find  even  the  coast, 
and  overcome  by  his  toils,  he  died  in  Greenland  in  the  fol 
lowing  winter.  In  the  year  1007,  a  flotilla  of  three  barks, 
with  crews  amounting  to  a  hundred  and  sixty  men,  and  with 
a  sufficiency  of  live  stock,  left  the  coast  of  Greenland,  under 
the  leadership  of  the  celebrated  THORFINN  KARLSEFXE  and 
SNORRE  THORBRANDSON  ;  leaving  the  usual  track,  and  in 
clining  more  to  the  south,  they  remained  some  time  at  the 
island  of  MARTHA'S  YINEYARD,  whence  sailing  westwardly, 
they  spent  two  winters  in  MOUNT  HOPE  BAY,  near  SECONNET, 
a  degree  and  a  half  of  latitude  nearer  towards  New  York. 

Unhappily,  in  the  following  winter,  the  good  understand 
ing  which  had  subsisted  between  the  Scandinavian  adven 
turers  and .  the  Esquimaux  terminated  ;  the  latter  attacked 
them  with  a  superior  force,  and  would  have  exterminated 
them,  had  they  not  been  delivered  from  entire  destruction 
by  the  boldness  of  a  woman  named  FREYDIS.  This  unpro- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  5 

pitious  event  induced  KARLSEFNE  to  abandon  the  plan  of 
founding  a  colony  on  those  coasts,  and  to  return  to  Green 
land  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1011. 

But  still  more  mournful  was  the  result  of  another  expe 
dition  which  two  Norwegian  brothers,  HELGE  and  FINNE- 
BOGE,  made  in  the  same  year.  These,  with  thirty  of  their 
companions,  perished  at  the  hands  of  the  husband  of  FREY- 
Dis,  prompted  to  the  murder  by  this  masculine  woman,  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  enterprise  with  thirty -five  Scandinavians. ' 

~We  have  but  few  and  scattered  notices  concerning  any 
later  communications  between  Greenland  and  the  north 
eastern  coast  of  America.  We  find,  however,  that  in  the 
year  1121  the  Greenland  Bishop  ERICK  passed  over  to  Yin- 
land;  but  we  know  nothing  with  certainty  as  to  the  time  he 
remained  there,  and  as  little  concerning  the  state  of  any  colo 
nies  there,  either  as  to  extent,  or  the  degree  of  progress. 
This,  however,  is  certain,  that  the  monuments,  inscrip 
tions,  arms,  utensils,  tools,  and  remains  of  the  •  dead,  re 
cently  found  in  the  States  of  Ehode  Island,  Massachusetts 
and  elsewhere,  attest  an  entrance  of  strangers  into  the 
country,  much  more  considerable  than  any  of  those  which 
the  manuscripts  we  have  mentioned  bring  to  our  knowl 
edge. 

Greater  attention,  in  our  opinion,  is  due  to  the  notices  con 
tained  in  the  documents  communicated  by  Eafn,  which  make 
mention  of  a  nation  that,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the 
Esquimaux,  dwelt  in  their  neighborhood,  wore  white  vest 
ments,  uttered  cries,  and  made  use  of  long  rods  with  pieces 
of  cloth  attached  to  them.  According  to  a  probable  conjec 
ture,  the  country  occupied  by  this  nation  was  HUITRAMAX- 
X ALAND,  (the  country  of  white  men,)  which  lay  along 
Chesapeake  Bay,  extending  down  into  Carolina,  and  even 
still  further  towards  the  south.  The  story  is,  that  a  violent 


6  PERU. 

storm  in  983  cast  upon  these  shores  the  renowned  Captain 
ARE  M  ARSON,  of  KEYK JANES,  in  Iceland ;  whose  grandson, 
the  learned  and  celebrated  Icelander,  AKE  FRODE,  certifies 
that  certain  Irishmen  had  assured  his  uncle  that,  according 
to  the  verbal  relation  of  JARL  THORFINN  SIGURDSON,  of  the 
Orkneys,  the  name  of  ARE  MARSON  was  known  in  Huitra- 
mannaland ;  that  this  intrepid  adventurer  there  had  authority, 
but  that  the  natives  would  not  permit  him  to  return  to  his 
country.  The  more  probable  opinion  is,  that  a  Catholic 
population  had  cultivated  these  vast  regions ;  it  may  be  so 
inferred  from  the  circumstances  of  men  clothed  in  white,  of 
the  cries  which  they  uttered,  and  of  the  long  rods  with  pieces 
of  cloth  attached,  as  preserved  in  the  traditions  of  the  Esqui 
maux,  and  which  correspond  to  a  sacerdotal  procession  with 
hymns  and  standards  or  banners  of  a  Catholic  community. 
The  testimony  of  Jarl  Thorfinn  Sigurdson,  which  confirms 
the  presence  of  Are  Marson  in  Huitr am ann aland,  shows  a 
communication,  though  at  a  later  period,  between  Ireland 
and  the  northeastern  part  of  North  America. 

In  the  same  manuscripts  there  is  found  another  relation 
which  converts  the  above-mentioned  conjecture  into  certainty. 
BIOERN  ASBRANDSON,  whobore  the  surname  of  Breidvikinga- 
kappi,  a  companion  of  the  celebrated  league  of  the  heroes  of 
Jomberg,  and  one  of  the  most  fearless  champions  in  the  bat 
tle  of  Fyrisvalle,  in  Sweden,  had  an  amour  with  THURID, 
sister  of  the  powerful  chief  SNORRE  GODE.  in  Fordau,  of 
Iceland,  by  reason  of  which  he  was  obliged  to  emigrate  in  the 
year  999,  embarking  at  Hraunhofen  in  Snafellsnes.  Driven 
by  a  northeast  wind,  the  vessel  quickly  left  the  coast,  and  for 
a  long  time  there  were  no  tidings  of  the  fate  of  Bioern,  who, 
his  acquaintance  finally  supposed,  was  buried  in  the  depths 
of  the  sea.  At  length  it  happened  that  an  Icelandic  mer 
chant  named  GUDLEIF  GUDLANGSON,  a  brother  of  Thorfinn, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  7 

the  ancestor  of  the  distinguished,  historian  SNORRE  STURLU- 
SON,  desired  to  return  from  Dublin  to  Iceland,  tiling  the 
route  on  the  west  of  Ireland ;  but  violent  hurricanes  pro 
ceeding  from  the  northeast,  drove  him  to  the  west,  and 
afterwards  to  the  southwest,  carrying  him,  after  a  long  and 
dangerous  voyage,  to  an  unknown  coast,  the  natives  of  which 
seized  him  as  soon  as  he  had  landed.  In  a  short  time  a  troop 
of  men  came  to  him,  preceded  by  a  standard,  and  speaking 
a  language  resembling  that  of  Ireland ;  they  were  directed 
by  an  old  man  on  horseback,  of  noble  and  imposing  aspect, 
to  whom  it  belonged  to  decide  on  the  fate  of  the  prisoners. 
He  commanded  that  Gudleif  should  be  brought  into  his 
presence,  and  asked  him,  in  the  Scandinavian  language,  who 
he  was  and  whence  he  came  ;  arid  discovering  Gudleif  to  be 
a  native  of  Iceland,  the  old  man  informed  him  that  he  him 
self  was  Bioern  Astrandson,  the  lover  of  Thurid,  and  of  the 
same  place  as  she  and  his  son  Kiartan.  Afterwards  he  set 
Gudleif  and  his  companions  at  liberty,  advising  them  to 
leave,  as  soon  as  possible,  a  country  of  so  little  hospitality  ; 
and,  at  their  departure,  he  gave  to  him  a  ring  for  Thurid, 
and  a  sword  for  his  son  Kiartan.  Gudleif  returned  to  Dub 
lin,  and  thence,  in  the  following  summer,  to  Iceland,  where 
he  delivered  the  presents,  convincing  all  that  Bioern  As- 
brandson  had  sent  them. 

This  genuine  story,  written  a  little  after  the  events,  is  in 
our  view  an  important  proof  in  favor  of  the  opinion  that 
Irish  colonies  were  established  in  Huitramannaland,  the 
present  Carolinas,  and  probably  also  in  Florida ;  and  that 
the  immigration  of  these  colonies  took  place  long  before  the 
first  navigation  of  the  Scandinavians  to  the  New  World,  as 
we  are  enabled  to  fix  it  with  certainty  in  the  ninth  century 
of  our  era. 

Various  other  hypotheses  have  been  presented  relative  to 


8  PERU. 

the  peopling  of  the  regions  of  America  by  Western  nations, 
before  the  discovery  of  Columbus  ;  hypotheses  which,  if  they 
do  not  offer  a  degree  of  probability  as  great  as  that  presented 
in  the  one  given  above,  still  rest  on  reasons  more  or  less 
ingenious,  and  foundations  more  or  less  solid.  Among  others 
there  is  one  meriting  particular  notice  :  it  is  that  which 
attributes  the  origin  of  the  American  races  to  the  tribes 
which  composed  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Israel ;  that  is,  to 
the  nine  and  a  half  tribes  conquered  and  carried  captive  from 
Samaria,  while  there  still  remained  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
and  in  the  cities  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Jordan,  the 
tribes  of  Judah,  Benjamin,  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh. 

The  learned  Eabbi,  MANASSEH  BEN  ISRAEL,  in  his  cele 
brated  work  "  The  Hope  of  Israel"  (published  in  Amsterdam 
in  1650,)  was  the  first  who  treated  this  subject,  at  the  re 
quest  of  MONTESINT,  who  had  travelled  in  South  America,  and 
recognized  there,  in  his  Indian  guide,  an  Israelite,  who  assured 
him  that  there  lived  in  the  Cordilleras  a  considerable  number 
of  Indians  of  the  same  origin  with  himself.  Although  the 
historical  events  alleged  by  Manasseh  Ben  Israel  are  less 
numerous  than  those  of  his  successors,  still,  the  proofs  which 
they  offer  are  plausible  and  not  wanting  in  acuteness ;  and 
it  is  a  singular  fact  that  GREGORIO  GARCIA,  an  ancient 
author,  in  his  interesting  work,  "  The  Origin  of  the  Indians" 
makes  mention  of  a  Spanish  tradition,  according  to  which 
the  Americans  proceeded  from  the  nine  and  a  half  tribes  of 
Israel,  whom  Salmanezer,  King  of  Assyria,  carried  away 
captive. 

Passing  by  the  proofs,  more  or  less  ingenious,  advanced 
by  Heckewelder,  Beltrami,  De  Laet,*  Emanuel  de  Moraez, 
Beatty,  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith, f  William  Penn,  the  Count 

*  Orbis  Novus,  seu  Descriptio  Indiae  Occidentalis. 
t  On  the  Varieties  of  the  Human  Species. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  9 

Crawford,  and  many  others,  we  will  make  particular  men 
tion  of  Adair,*  who  lived  forty  years  among  the  Indians, 
and  who,  after  the  most  thorough  examination  and  minute 
comparison,  assures  us  that  the  origin  of  the  Indians  is 
Israel  itish,  founding  his  assertion  principally  on  the  religious 
rites,  which  plainly  present  many  points  of  agreement  with 
those  of  the  Hebrew  people. 

Like  the  Jews,  the  Indians  offer  their  first-fruits,  they 
keep  their  new  moons,  and  the  feast  of  expiations  at  the  end 
of  September  or  in  the  beginning  of  October ;  they  divide 
the  year  into  four  seasons,  corresponding  with  the  Jewish 
festivals.  According  to  Charlevoix  and  Long,  the  brother 
of  a  deceased  husband  receives  his  widow  into  his  house  as  a 
guest,  and  after  a  suitable  time  considers  her  as  a  legitimate 
consort.  In  some  parts  of  North  America  circumcision  is 
practised,  and  of  this  Acosta  and  Lopez  de  Gomara  make 
mention.  There  is  also  much  analogy  between  the  Hebrews 
and  Indians  in  that  which  concerns  various  rites  and  cus 
toms  ;  such  as  the  ceremonies  of  purification,  the  use  of  the 
bath,  the  ointment  of  bear's  grease,  fasting,  and  the  manner 
of  prayer.  The  Indians  likewise  abstain  from  the  blood  of 
animals,  as  also  from  fish  without  scales ;  they  consider 
divers  quadrupeds  unclean,  as  also  certain  birds  and  reptiles, 
and  they  are  accustomed  to  offer  as  an  holocaust  the  first 
lings  of  the  flock.  Acosta  and  Emanuel  de  Moraez  relate 
that  various  nations  allow  matrimony  with  those  only 
of  their  own  tribe  or  lineage,  this  being,  in  their  view,  a 
striking  characteristic,  very  remarkable,  and  of  much  weight. 
But  that  which  most  tends  to  fortify  the  opinion  as  to  the 
Hebrew  origin  of  the  American  tribes,  is  a  species  of  ark, 
seemingly  like  that  of  the  Old  Testament;  this  the  Indians 

*  History  of  the  American  Nations,  pp.  15-212. 
1* 


10  PERU. 

take  with  them  to  war ;  it  is  never  permitted  to  touch  the 
ground,  but.  rests  upon  stones  or  pieces  of  wood,  it  being 
deemed  sacrilegious  and  unlawful  to  open  it  or  look  into  it. 
The  American  priests  scrupulously  guard  their  sanctuary, 
and  the  High  Priest  carries  on.  his  breast  a  white  shell 
adorned  with  precious  stones,  which  recalls  the  Urim  of  the 
Jewish  High  Priest :  of  whom  we  are  also  reminded  by  a 
band  of  white  plumes  on  his  forehead. 

According  to  the  credible  testimony  of  Adair,  the  Indians 
of  North  America  celebrate  the  feast  of  first-fruits  with  re 
ligious  dances,  singing  in  chorus  these  mystic  words  : — Yo 
MESCHICA,  HE  MESCHICA,  VA  MESCHICA,  forming  thus,  with 
the  three  first  syllables,  the  name  of  Je-ho-vah,  and  the  name 
of  Messiah  thrice  pronounced,  following  each  initial.  On 
other  occasions  may  be  heard  in  their  hymns  the  words, 
Aylo,  Aylo,  which  correspond  with  the  Hebrew  word  El, 
GOD  ;  in  other  hymns  occur  the  words,  hiwah,  hiwah, — Jiyd- 
cliyra,  "  the  immortal  soul,"  and  Schiluhyo,  $Gkiluhe,  Scliiluh- 
va,  of  which  Adair  thinks  that  Schiluh  is  the  same  with  the 
Hebrew  word  Sclialeach,  or  Schiloth,  which  signifies  messen 
ger,  or  pacificator.  The  use  of  Hebrew  words  was  not  un 
common  in  the  religious  performances  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  Indians,  and  Adair  assures  us  that  they  called  an  accused 
or  guilty  person  haksit  canalia,  "  a  sinner  of  Canaan ;"  and  to 
him  who  was  inattentive  to  religious  worship,  they  said, 
Tschi  halcsit  canaha,  "  you  resemble  a  sinner  of  Canaan." 
Lescarbot  also  tells  us  that  he  had  heard  the  Indians  of  South 
America  sing  "Alleluia" 

Those  authors  who  attribute  a  Hebrew  origin  to  the  Ameri 
can  tribes  do  not  agree  among  themselves  touching  the  com 
ing  of  the  Israelites  into  the  New  World  :  some  think  that 
they  came  directly  from  the  Eastern  hemisphere  to  the  West, 
and  established  themselves  in  the  central  and  southern  parts 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  11 

of  this  hemisphere ;  but  the  majority  are  of  opinion  that 
they  crossed  Persia  and  the  frontiers  of  China, -and  came  in 
by  the  way  of  Bhering's  Straits. 

An  ingenious  author  of  our  times  considers  the  Canaanites 
as  the  first  inhabitants  of  America,  who,  proceeding  from 
Mauritania  Tingitana,  landed  somewhere  on  the  shores  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.*  "  Fifteen  hundred  years  after  the  ex 
pulsion  of  the  Canaanites  by  Joshua,  the  nine  and  a  half 
tribes  of  Israel  passed  over  by  the  way  of  Bhering's  Straits, 
and  like  the  Goths  and  Vandals,  assaulted  that  people  [the 
Canaanites].  For  a  second  time,  and  on  another  continent, 
the  descendants  of  Joshua  attacked  the  Canaanites,  whose 
origin  they  had  discovered,  and  animated  by  their  ancient 
hatred,  they  burned  their  temples  and  destroyed  their  gigan 
tic  towers  and  cities." 

At  first  view,  the  proofs  produced  by  different  authors  in 
favor  of  an  Israelitish  immigration,  may  seem  to  be  conclu 
sive  ;  but,  if  closely  examined,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  hy 
pothesis  rests  on  no  solid  foundation. 

But  it  is  time  to  turn  to  another  hypothesis  no  less  interest 
ing,  and  up  to  this  time  never  thoroughly  examined.  The 
author  of  this  is  Don  PABLO  FELIX  DE  CABRERA,  of  Guate 
mala,  who  labors  ingeniously  and  with  force  to  show  the  re 
lations  between  the  Phoenicians  and  Americans,  sustaining 
his  opinions  by  Mexican  hieroglyphic  inscriptions.  This 
brilliant  hypothesis  merits  a  somewhat  extended  notice. 

Don  FRANCISCO  NUNEZ  DE  LA  YEGA,  bishop  of  Cliiapa, 

*  We  meet  in  ancient  history  with  three  places  called  Mauritania,  viz., 
Mauritania  Tingitana,  Mauritania  Cossariensis,  and  Mauritania  Sitifensis. 
The  first  of  these  was  what  now  constitutes  Morocco;  itwas  called  Tingi 
tana  from  Tingis  its  capital,  afterwards  corrupted  into  Tanja,  and  finally 
into  Tangier,  its  present  name.  All  the  three,  however,  were  in  the  north 
ern  part  of  Africa.— [TRANSLATOR.] 


12  PERU. 

possessed,  as  he  himself  states  in  his  "  Diocesan  Constitutions" 
published  at  Rome  in  1702,  a  document  in  which  a  certain 
voyager  or  traveller,  named  VOTAN,  minutely  described  the 
countries  and  nations  which  he  had  visited.  This  man 
uscript,  it  was  found,  was  written  in  the  Tzendal  language ; 
and  was  accompanied  by  certain  hieroglyphics  cut  in  stone  ; 
by  order  of  the  same  Votan  the  manuscript  was  to  be  perma 
nently  deposited  in  a  dark  house  (or  cavern)  in  the  province 
of  Socouusco,  and  there  confided  to  the  custody  of  a  noble 
Indian  lady,  and  of  a  number  of  Indians,  the  places  of  all  of 
whom,  as  they  became  vacant,  were  to  be  continually  re-sup 
plied.*  Thus  it  continued  preserved  for  centuries,  perhaps 
for  two  thousand  years,  until  the  bishop  above  named,  Nunez 
de  la  Vega,  in  visiting  the  province,  obtained  possession  of  the 
manuscript,  and  in  the  year  1690,  commanded  it  to  be  destroy 
ed  in  the  public  square  of  Huegetan ;  so  that  the  curious  notices 
which  it  contained  would  have  been  completely  lost,  if  there 
had  not  existed,  in  the  hands  of  Don  RAMON  DE  ORDONEZ  Y 
AGUIAR,  in  Ciudad  Real,  according  to  his  own  statement,  a 
copy,  made  immediately  after  the  conquest,  and  which  is  in 
part  published  by  Cabrera. 

The  title  or  frontispiece  of  this  document  consists  of  two 
squares  of  different  colors,  and  with  their  angles  on  a  parallel ; 
one  of  them  represents  the  ancient  continent,  and  is  marked 
with  two  characters,  placed  perpendicularly,  in  the  form  of  the 
letter  S ;  the  other  square  represents  the  new  continent,  and  con 
tains  two  similar  characters,  but  placed  horizontally.  When 
Yotan  speaks  of  the  places  of  the  Old  World,  the  chapter  is 
marked  with  the  upright  character  S  ;  but  in  speaking  of  the 
second,  the  chapter  is  indicated  by  the  sign  placed  horizon- 

*  The  reader  should  be  apprised  that  the  Tzendals  were  one  of  the  In 
dian  nations  of  Central  America. — [TRANSLATOR.] 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  13 

tally,  GO .  Between  the  two  squares,  may  be  read  the  fol 
lowing,  as  the  title,  or  topic  of  the  manuscript :  u  Proof  that 
I  am  a  serpent"  The  author  says  in  the  text,  that  he  is  the 
third  bearing  the  name  of  Yotan;  that  by  nature,  or  birth, 
he  is  a  serpent,  for  he  is  a  chivim  ;  that  he  had  proposed  to 
himself  to  travel  until  he  should  find  the  way  to  the  hea 
vens,  whither  he  went  to  seek  the  serpents,  his  parents;  that 
he  had  gone  from  Yalum  Chivim  to  Valum  Yotan,  and  con 
ducted  seven  families  from  the  last-named  place;  that  he 
had  happily  passed  to  Europe,  and  had  seen  them  at  Borne, 
building  a  magnificent  temple ;  that  he  had  travelled  by  an 
open  path  seeking  for  his  brothers,  the  serpents,  and  had 
made  marks  on  this  same  path,  and  that  he  had  passed  by 
the  houses  of  the  thirteen  serpents.  In  one  of  his  journeys 
he  had  encountered  other  seven  families  of  the  Tzequil  na 
tion,  whom  he  recognized  as  serpents,  teaching  them  all 
that  was  necessary  to  prepare  suitable  sustenance,  and  that 
they  for  their  part  were  ready  to  acknowledge  him  as  God 
himself,  and  plected  him  their  chief.  Such  is  the  tenor  of 
the  document. 

In  the  ruins  of  Palenque,  Don  ANTOXIO  DEL  Eio,  a  captain 
of  artillery,  sent  in  1786,  by  the  King  of  Spain,  to  examine 
the  remains  of  that  city,  found  various  figures  which  repre 
sent  Yotan,  on  both  continents,  and  this  tradition  was  con 
firmed  some  years  later  by  the  discovery  of  divers  medals. 

With  great  diligence  and  labor,  Cabrera  availed  himself 
of  these  sources,  and  commentaries  on  the  history  of  the 
past,  and  drew  from  them  the  following  conclusion,  which 
alone  we  can  here  offer  to  our  readers,  the  limits  of  our  work 
not  permitting  an  extended  statement  of  the  ingenious  proofs 
brought  forward  by  the  author. 

Cabrera  thinks  that  a  Chivim  is  the  same  as  a  Givim  or 
Hivim,  i.  e.  a  descendant  of  Heth,  the  son  of  Canaan.  To 


14  PERU. 

the  Givims  or  Hivites  (Avims  or  Avites),  of  whom  mention 
is  made  in  Deuteronomy,  (ch.  ii.  v.  23,)  and  in  Joshua,  (ch. 
xiii.  v.  8,)  belonged  Cadmus,  and  his  wife  Hermione,  who, 
as  we  read  in  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  were  changed  into  ser 
pents,  and  elevated  .to  the  dignity  of  gods.  It  is  probably 
owing  to  this  fable  that  in  the  Phoenician  language  the  word 
Qivim  signifies  also  a  serpent.  The  city  of  Tripoli,  under 
the  dependence  of  Tyre,  was  anciently  called  Ghivim  ;  and 
the  theme  or  topic  of  Yotan,  "lam  a  serpent  because  I  am 
Chivim"  simply  means,  when  interpreted,  "/  am  a  Hivite  of 
Tripoli"  a  city  which  he  calls  Vdlum  Votan.  Building  on  a 
profound  consideration  of  ancient  history,  Cabrera  believes 
that  the  Tyrian  Hercules,  who,  according  to  Diodorus,  went 
over  the  entire  world,  was  the  ancestor  of  Yotan ;  that  the 
island  of  Hispaniola  is  the  ancient  Septimia,  and  the  city  of 
Alecto  that  of  Yalum,  from  which  Yotan  began  his  journey- 
ings.  He  also  thinks  that  the  thirteen  serpents  signify  the 
thirteen  Canary  Isles,  which  derive  their  name  from  their 
inhabitants,  the  Canaanites,  who  tarried  in  them  jointly  with 
the  Hivites,  and  that  the  marks  or  indications  which  Yotan 
erected  in  the  pathway,  to  his  brothers,  mean  the  two  col 
umns  of  white  marble  found  at  Tangier,  with  this  inscription 
in  the  Phoenician  language :  "  We  are  the  sons  of  those  luho  fled 
from  the  robber  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  and  found  here  a  secure 
asylum}1 

The  journey  of  Yotan  to  Eome,  and  the  vast  temple  which 
he  saw  being  constructed  in  that  city,  are  events  which,  ac 
cording  to  the  foregoing  conclusions,  should  have  taken  place 
in  the  year  290  before  the  Christian  era,  when,  after  an  ob 
stinate  and  bloody  war  of  eight  years  with  the  Samnites,  the 
Romans  granted  peace  to  that  people,  and  the  Consul  Publius 
Corn eliusRufus  commanded  to  be  built  a  sumptuous  temple  in 
honor  of  Eomulus  and  Eeinus ;  an  event  which,  according  to 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  15 

Mexican  chronology,  took  place  in  the  year  u eight  rabbits" 
(ToxtU).  The  seven  Tzequil  families  which  Yotan  encoun 
tered  on  his  return  were  also  Phoenicians,  and  probably  ship 
wrecked  persons  from  the  Phoenician  embarkation  mentioned 
by  Diodorus. 

According  to  Cabrera,  the  first  emigration  or  colony  of  the 
Carthaginians  in  America  took  place  in  the  first  Punic  war. 
The  other  conclusions  of  this  author  relative  to  the  founda 
tion  of  the  kingdom  of  Amahnamecan  by  the  Carthaginians, 
the  emigration  of  the  Toltecs,  &c.,  are  incompatible  with  the 
limits  of  our  work ;  but  we  cannot  do  less  than  1'emark  here 
on  the  opinions  of  many  learned  men,  who  think  that  the 
Toltecan  god,  Quetzalcoatl,  is  identical  with  the  apostle  St. 
Thomas ;  and  it  is  observable  that  the  surname  of  this  apostle, 
Didimus,  (twin)  has   the  same  signification  in   Greek  that 
Quetzalcoatl  has  in  Mexican.     It  is  astonishing,  also,  to  con 
sider  the  numerous  and  extensive  regions  traversed  by  this 
apostle;  for,  though  some  confine  them  to  Parthia,  others 
extend  them  to  Calamita,  a  doubtful  city  in  India ;  others  as 
far  as  Maliopur  (at  this  day  the  city  of  St.  Thomas  on  the 
Coromandel  coast) ;  others,  even  to  China ;  and,  as  we  have 
seen,  there  are  not  wanting  those  who  think  that  he  came 
even  to  Central  America. 

We  decline  making  any  remarks  on  the  documents  of 
Yotan,  and  the  interpretations  of  Cabrera,  since,  even  if  they 
are  not  considered  fabulous,  they  still  do  not  present  a  species 
of  evidence  perfectly  free  from  suspicion. 

Omitting  many  minute  and  useless  hypotheses,  more  or  less 
ingenious,  we  will  succinctly  recite  certain  opinions  con 
cerning  the  relation  of  the  two  hemispheres  before  the  clays 
of  Columbus,  which,  however,  in  our  view,  offer  very  slight 
grounds  of  probability.  According  to  SANDOVAL,  the  West 
ern  hemisphere  was  peopled  by  emigrations  proceeding  from 


16  PERU. 

Trapobane,  or  Ceylon,  lying  south  of  the  peninsula  which 
has  been  called  India  from  the  most  remote  antiquity. 
GEORGE  COLUNIO  assigns  a  Gaelic  origin  to  the  American 
races.  CHARRON  pronounces  for  a  Celtic  root ;  and  in  the 
opinion  of  MARCO  POLO  and  JOHN  BANKING,  Mango  Capac, 
the  first  Inca  of  Peru,  was  the  son  of  the  great  Kublai  Khan, 
and  Montezuma,  the  grandson  of  Askam,  a  noble  Mongol  of 
Tangut.  And  the  celebrated  HUMBOLDT  thinks  that  the 
Toltecs  derive  their  origin  from  the  Huns. 

But  the  hypothesis  which,  in  importance,  surpasses  all 
these,  is  that  of  DE  GUIGNES,  who,  relying  upon  the  chroni 
cles  of  China,  attributes  Peruvian  civilization  to  emigrations 
proceeding  from  the  celestial  empire,  or  the  East  Indies.  Ee- 
cent  investigations  would  seem  to  confirm  this  opinion.  In 
the  year  1844,  the  learned  and  ingenious  Frenchman,  PARA- 
VEY,  proved  that  the  country  of  Fa-Sang,  described  in  the 
Chinese  annals,  is  the  Mexican  empire,  which,  as  it  appears 
from  the  same  annals,  was  known  to  the  Chinese  in  the  fifth 
century  of  our  era.  A  year  later,  Senor  Neumann  de  Mo 
naco  treated  of  the  same  point  as  a  new  discovery,  although 
he  had  knowledge  of  the  works  of  his  predecessor.  Neither 
of  these  learned  men,  however,  knew  how  to  dispose  of  the 
difficulty  which  presented  itself,  in  the  difference  existing 
between  the  actual  Mexican  Fauna,  and  that  presented  as 
such  in  the  Chinese  traditions.  The  difficulty  was  a  seem 
ing  one  only,  and  the  supposed  difference  easily  reconcilable 
by  a  person  versed  in  Zoology.  Monsieur  de  Paravey,  in 
1847,  added  an  interesting  appendix  to  his  former  work,  in 
which  he  shows  that  at  Uxmal,  in  Yucatan,  there  Las  been 
found  sculptured  the  Buddha  of  Java,  seated  under  the 
head  of  a  Siva ;  and  which  was  copied  by  Waldeck. 

As  the  Icelandic  documents  are  of  great  importance,  in 
verifying  the  entrance  of  the  Scandinavians  on  the  Atlantic 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  17 

coast  of  the  New  Continent ;  so,  also,  of  equal  value  are  the 
Chinese  chronicles,  preserved  in  the  work  entitled  Pian-y-tien, 
to  prove  a  communication  of  Asia  with  America,  from  the 
eastern  side  of  the  first-named  continent,  washed  by  the 
waves  of  the  Pacific.  And,  so  too,  if  the  investigations  and 
discoveries  of  the  future  shall  prove  that  no  error  has  been 
committed  in  the  interpretation  of  the  document  of  Votan, 
such  discovery  will  not,  in  the  slightest  degree,  diminish  the 
testimony  of  the  Chinese  annals ;  but  on  the  contrary,  will 
rather  contribute  to  confirm  the  authenticity  of  the  strange 
adventures  which  are  related  in  their  wonderful  history. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Quetzalcoatl,  Bochica,  Mango  Ca- 
pac,  and  other  reformers  of  Central  America,  were  Buddhist 
priests,  who,  by  means  of  their  superior  learning  and  civili 
zation,  sought  to  rule  the  minds  of  the  natives,  and  to  ele 
vate  themselves  to  political  supremacy,* 

A  remarkable  analogy  and  numerous  points  of  agreement 
present  themselves  as  existing  between  the  religion  of  Buddha 
and  Bramah,  and  the  Mexican  worship.  As  among  the 
East  Indians,  an  undefined  being,  Bramah,  the  divinity  in 
general,  was  shadowed  forth  in  the  Trimurti,f  or  as  a  God 

*  A  prolonged  struggle  between  the  two  religious  sects  of  the  Brah 
mins  and  Buddhists  was  terminated  by  the  immigration  of  the  Chamans 
from  Tibet,  in  Mongolia,  into  China  and  Japan.  If  this  Tartar  race 
passed  over  to  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  and  thence  to  the  south 
and  east,  as  far  as  the  shores  of  the  Gila  and  of  Misury,  as  the  etymolo 
gical  investigations  of  Vater  would  seem  to  prove;  it  will  not  then  ap 
pear  strange  to  find  among  the  semi-barbarous  nations  of  the  New  Con 
tinent  idols  and  archaeological  monuments,  a  hieroglyphic  writing,  a 
knowledge  of  the  length  of  the  year,  and  traditions  concerning  the  origin 
of  the  world,  which  will  all  recall  the  knowledge,  arts  and  religious 
opinions  of  the  ancient  nations. — Humboldt — American  Monuments, 

t  The  Trirnurti  of  the  East  Indies  corresponds  in  a  certain  manner  with 
the  Trinity  of  Christianity. 


18  PERU. 

under  three  forms,  viz.,  Bramah,  Vishnu,  and  Sciva ;  so  also 
the  Supreme  Being  was  venerated  among  the  Indians  of 
Mexico,  under  the  three  forms  of  Ho,  Huitzilopoctli*  and 
Tialoc,  who  formed  the  Mexican  Trimurti.  The  attributes 
and  worship  of  the  Mexican  goddess  Mictanihuatl  preserve 
the  most  perfect  analogy  with  those  of  the  sanguinary  and 
implacable  KALI  ;  as  do  equally  the  legends  of  the  Mexican 
divinity  Teayamiqui  with  the  formidable  BHAVANI  ;  both 
these  Indian  deities  wives  of  Siva-Kudra.  Not  less  sur 
prising  is  the  characteristic  likeness  which  exists  between  the 
pagodas  of  India  and  the  Tcocallis  of  Mexico,  while  the  idols 
of  both  temples  offer  a  similitude  in  physiognomy  and 
posture  which  cannot  escape  the  observation  of  any  one  who 
has  been  in  both  countries. 

The  same  analogy  is  observed  between  the  oriental  Tri 
murti  and  that  of  Peru ;  thus  CON  corresponds  to  Bramah, 
PACHACAMAC  to  Yishnu,  and  HUIRACOCHA  to  Siva.  -  The 
Peruvians  never  dared  to  erect  a  temple  to  their  ineffable 
GOD,  whom  they  never  confounded  with  other  divinities ;  a 
remarkable  circumstance,  which  reminds  us  of  similar  conduct 
among  a  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  India  as  to  Bramah,  who 
is  the  Eternal,  the  abstract  God.  Equally  will  the  study  of 
worship  in  the  two  hemispheres  show  intimate  connection 
between  the  existence  and  attributes  of  the  devadasis  (female 
servants  of  the  Gods)  and  the  Peruvian  virgins  of  the  Sun. 

All  these  considerations,  and  many  others,  which  from 
want  of  space  we  must  omit,  evidently  prove  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  Asiatic  religions,  such  as  that  of  Fo,  in  China, 
of  Buddha,  in  Japan,  of  Sommono-  Cadom,  in  India ;  the  La- 
maism  of  Thibet,  the  doctrine  of  DschaMschiamuni  among 

*  The  most  interesting  investigations  as  to  this  divinity  are  in  the 
work  of  Dr.  J.  Gr.  Muller— Z>er  Mexicanische  Nationalgott,  HuitzilopocMi, 
1847. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  19 

the  Mongols  and  Calmucs ;  as  well  as  the  worship  of  Quet- 
zakoail,  in  Mexico,  and  of  Mango-  Capac,  in  Peru,  are  but  so 
many  branches  of  the  same  trunk ;  whose  root  the  labors  of 
archeology  and  modern  philosophy  have  not  been  able  to 
determine  with  certainty,  notwithstanding  all  the  discussion, 
perseverance,  sagacity  and  boldness  of  hypothesis,  among 
the  learned  men  who  have  been  occupied  in  investigating 
the  subject. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  how  marvellous  the  analogy  be 
tween  Christianity  and  Buddhism !  The  first  Christian  mis 
sionaries  who  visited  Thibet,  where  Buddhism  predominates, 
were  overcome  with  surprise  on  finding  religious  usages  in 
perfect  accordance  with  those  of  Christian  countries ;  so  that 
they  actually  considered  Buddhism  as  a  degenerated  Chris 
tianity,  although  it  was  perfectly  certain  that  the  last  was 
much  the  more  recent.  The  missionaries  found  among  the 
followers  of  Buddha  the  pastoral  crook  or  staff,  the  rosary, 
fasting,  mendicant  friars,  temples  adorned  with  paintings  and 
sculpture,  the  burning  of  candles  in  divine  worship,  the  short 
garment  of  the  priests,  the  thurible  or  censer,^the  habit  of 
singing  certain  hymns,  the  ringing  of  a  bell  as  a  signal  for 
the  faithful  to  unite  in  devotion,  to  which  we  may  add  sacri 
fices,  the  veneration  of  relics,  holy  water,  pilgrimages,  and 
indulgences  granted  by  the  Grand  Lama. 

Not  less,  however,  was  the  surprise  of  the  first  Spanish 
ecclesiastics,  who  found,  on  reaching  Mexico,  a  priesthood  as 
regularly  organized  as  that  of  the  most  civilized  countries. 
Clothed  with  a  powerful  and  effective  authority  which  ex 
tended  its  arms  to  man  in  every  condition  and  in  all  the 
stages  of  his  life,  the  Mexican  priests  were  mediators  between 
man  and  the  Divinity ;  they  brought  the  newly  born  infants 
into  the  religious  society,  they  directed  their  training  and 
education,  they  determined  the  entrance  of  the  young  men 


20  PERU. 

into  the  service  of  the  State,  they  consecrated  marriage  by 
their  blessing,  they  comforted  the  sick  and  assisted  the  dy 
ing.  This  sacerdotal  authority,  so  like  in  all  things  that  of 
the  Christian  Church,  particularly  manifested  itself  in  a  spe 
cies  of  confession  which  prevailed  in  Mexico,  and  concerning 
which  the  dogma  obtained  that  a  wrong  or  sin  confessed  to  the 
priest,  and  expiated  through  the  medium  of  a  penance  im 
posed  by  him,  was  thereby  completely  blotted  out,  and  was 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  human  justice  and  secular 
power. 

Finally,  we  can  do  no  less,  before  we  conclude  this  chap 
ter,  than  insist  on  this  point,  that  Quetzalcoatl  and  Mango 
Capac  were  both  missionaries  of  the  worship  of  Bramah  or 
Buddha,  and  probably  of  different  sects.  It  does  not,  how 
ever,  now  fall  within  our  purpose  to  present  systematically 
the  positive  proofs  of  this  assertion ;  we  hope  to  give  them 
hereafter  in  extenso,  in  a  work  specially  devoted  to  the  sub 
ject,  which  we  propose  to  publish.  We  now  pass  on  to  the 
particular  consideration  of  the  inhabitants  of  Peru,  viewed 
under  several  aspects. 


NOTES. 

To  enumerate  the  various  hypotheses  which  have  been  framed  on  the 
subject  discussed  in  this  chapter,  would  far  transcend  our  limits,  and,  in 
deed,  require  a  volume.  Without  here  attempting  such  a  work,  we  must 
confine  our  annotations  at  present  to  the  statements  of  the  text. 

Of  the  visits  of  the  Scandinavians,  little  doubt  seems  now  to  be  enter 
tained.  The  extent  of  coast  explored  by  them  is  much  less  certain ; 
though  some  have  supposed,  and,  as  we  think,  on  insufficient  testimony, 
that  they  were  as  far  south  as  the  shores  of  South  Carolina.  The  princi 
pal  testimony  for  the  fact  of  their  coming  at  all,  is  derived  from  the  docu 
ments  alluded  to  in  the  text,  and  published  in  the  "  Antiquitates  Ameri- 
cance"  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries.  But  confirmatory 
evidence  is  supposed  to  exist  in  monuments  that  have  been  discovered  in 
this  country,  and  among  these  stands  most  conspicuous  what  is  known 
as  the  Dighton  Rock.  This  stone  is  about  six  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Taunton,  on  the  east  side  of  Taunton  River,  in  the  town  of  Berkley, 
Bristol  county,  Massachusetts.  It  is  a  fine-grained  gray  wacJce,  and,  on 
one  of  its  sides,  is  covered  with  marks  and  lines,  of  which  many  copies 
have  been  made,  at  different  dates,  from  the  year  1680  up  to  1847.  In 
1830,  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society  caused  an  accurate  copy  to  be 
made  of  the  marks  and  lines,  as  they  then  appeared.  In  1847,  the  same 
work  was  performed  by  the  New  York  Historical  Society.  There  is  a 
general  resemblance  in  most  of  these  copies ;  though  of  some  it  may  be 
said  that  one,  familiar  with  the  rock  itself,  would  scarce  recognize  them 
as  intended  representations  of  the  inscription  on  it.  The  lines  seem  not 
to  have  been  chiselled,  but  to  have  been  made  by  picking  with  the  point 
of  some  iron  implement.  Some  have  supposed  the  characters  to  be,  in 
part,  at  least,  Phoenician,  while  the  Northern  antiquaries  have  (after  com 
paring  all  the  copies,  except  that  of  1847,)  pronounced  them  to  be  Scandi 
navian,  and  have  even  ventured,  in  part  at  least,  on  an  interpretation. 

(21) 


22  PERU. 

Whether  they  be  Scandinavian  or  not,  there  is  one  interesting  fact  con 
nected  with  the  Dighton  inscription,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Mr. 
Schoolcraft.  At  Michillimacinac,  in  1839,  this  gentleman  submitted  sev 
eral  drawings  of  the  inscription  to  the  Algonquin  chief,  Chingwauk,  some 
what  celebrated  for  his  skill  in  deciphering  the  pictographic  delineations 
of  his  race.  After  an  attentive  study  of  them,  Chingwauk  pronounced  a 
part  of  them  to  be  the  work  of  the  New  England  Indians,  and  furnished 
what  he  conceived  to  be  the  interpretation  of  the  characters.  As  to  some 
of  the  characters,  however,  he  professed  his  inability  to  decipher  them, 
and  Mr.  Schoolcraft  seems  to  think  they  may  be  Scandinavian ;  at  all 
events,  the  visits  of  the  Northmen  to  America,  in  the  tenth  and  elev 
enth  centuries,  may  be  considered  a  fact  generally  admitted  by  antiqua 
ries. 

As  to  the  opinion  so  confidently  expressed  by  the  author,  that  Irish 
colonies  were  planted  in  the  Carolinas  and  Florida  as  early  as  in  the 
ninth  century  of  our  era,  all  that  can  be  said  is,  that  we  know  at  pres 
ent  of  no  other  testimony  in  support  of  such  a  fact,  but  that  which  is 
contained  in  the  text.  There  are,  however,  one  or  two  particulars  con 
tained  in  the  story  which  call  for  remark.  If  by  the  term  "Esquimaux" 
be  meant  the  people  so  designated  at  present,  they  are  here  placed  fur 
ther  south  on  the  Atlantic  coast  than  they  have  generally  been  supposed 
to  have  reached.  If  Snorre  Thurlusson  saw  a  troop  of  /torse,  with  a  leader 
mounted  on  that  animal,  it  contradicts  the  generally  received  opinion, 
that  the  horse  was  introduced  into  America  by  the  Spanish  conquerors, 
at  a  much  later  period.  It  should,  however,  be  added  that,  within  the 
last  two  years,  the  fossil  remains  of  the  horse  have  been  said  to  be  found 
in  America.  The  report,  however,  was  so  vaguely  given  in  a  newspaper 
paragraph,  that  we  have  been  unable  to  verify  it.  More  light  may 
possibly  hereafter  be  thrown  upon  this  supposed  Irish  colony;  we 
confess,  however,  that,  as  at  present  advised,  we  very  much  doubt  its 
existence. 

As  to  the  hypothesis  of  the  settlement  of  America  by  the  ten  tribes, 
Adair  has  stated  it  most  strongly.  It  is,  however,  much  older  than  Adair. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Thorowgood,  in  1645,  published  a  sermon  entitled, 
"Jews  in  America;  or,  Probabilities  that  the  Americans  are  Jews;" 
this  was  answered  by  Sir  Hamon  L'Estrange  in  1651,  in  his  book, 
"  Americans  no  Jews,"  and,  as  we  think,  conclusively  answered.  The 
hypothesis,  however,  has  been  revived  at  various  periods  since,  but  has 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  23 

not  generally  found  favor  among  the  best  informed  students  of  American 
antiquities. 

The  next  hypothesis,  of  a  Phoenician  origin  for  that  body  of  settlers 
who  peopled  Guatemala  and  the  adjacent  regions,  has  been  ingeniously 
and  learnedly  supported  by  De  Laet ;  and  has,  within  the  last  two  or 
three  years,  been  invested  with  fresh  interest  by  the  new  discoveries  of 
the  Abbe  de  Bourbourg,  whose  work  is  now  (as  we  are  informed)  in  the 
press  in  Paris.  The  text,  in  its  very  imperfect  exposition  of  this  hypothesis, 
refers  to  the  work  of  Cabrera  only.  Cabrera  himself  knew,  personally,  little 
or  nothing  on  the  subject.  His  book  is  made  up  of  what  he  could  learn  from 
the  laborious  researches  of  Ordonez,  of  which,  by  an  abuse  of  confidence, 
he  availed  himself.  The  Abbe  de  Bourbourg  thus  relates  the  story : — 
"  The  second  work  of  Don  Ramon  de  Ordonez,  and,  without  question,  the 
most  important,  was  a  complete  history  of  the  ancient  mythology  of  the 
Tzendals,  and  of  the  building  of  the  first  four  American  cities.  During 
the  stay  of  Don  Ramon  in  Guatemala,  where  he  resided  for  some  time, 
he  communicated  a  portion  of  the  materials  which  he  had  collected  for 
his  great  work  to  Doctor  Paul  Felix  Cabrera,  who,  abusing  the  confidence 
thus  reposed  in  him,  appropriated  the  labors  of  the  learned  archaeologist, 
and  commented  largely,  in  various  works  composed  by  him,  on  the  origin 
of  the  Americans.  One  of  these  was  translated  into  English,  and  pub 
lished  in  Great  Britain,  in  1822.  But  in  these  works,  Cabrera,  who  did 
not  sufficiently  comprehend  the  writings  of  Ordonez,  completely  disfig 
ured  them,  and  hazarded  some  ridiculous  opinions  of  his  own.  Ordonez 
complained  bitterly  of  this  theft,  and  of  the  false  representations  which 
Cabrera  had  given  of  his  work,  and,  because  of  them,  obtained  against 
him  a  decree  of  the  Royal  audience  of  Guatemala,  in  June,  1794."  In 
fact,  Cabrera  has  done  much  to  render  the  views  of  Ordonez,  which  are 
worthy  of  attentive  study,  ridiculous  and  incredible. 

We  cannot  enter  here  particularly  into  the  hypothesis  of  Ordonez ;  ere 
long  we  hope  it  will  be  presented  to  the  public  by  the  Abbe  de  Bour 
bourg,  from  whom,  as  yet,  we  have  nothing  but  his  four  letters  from  Mex 
ico,  addressed  to  the  Duke  de  Valmy,  and  giving  an  outline  of  his  dis 
coveries.  These  letters  are  full  of  interest,  and  eminently  suggestive  to 
the  American  archaeologist.  As  the  whole  subject,  however,  of  Ordonez's 
writings  is  brought  under  discussion  by  the  present  writer,  in  a  larger 
work  which  will  ere  long  be  published,  he  will  here  say  no  more,  than 


24  PEKU. 

that  the  testimony  to  sustain  the  hypothesis  of  an  early  Phoenician  colony 
in  America,  is  by  no  means  feeble. 

As  to  the  hypothesis,  suggested  by  De  G-uignes,  of  emigration  to  the 
western  coast  of  America,  from  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  the  testimony 
in  support  of  it  is  very  strong,  and  to  the  mind  of  the  present  writer,  con 
clusive.  Such  emigration,  however,  took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era ;  and  while  it  explains  many  facts  in 
America,  which  long  perplexed  our  archaeologists,  it  by  no  means  aids  us 
in  determining  the  origin  of  our  earliest  population.  Baron  Humboldt  is 
entitled  to  the  honor  of  having.  by*a  suggestion  of  probability  merely, 
opened  the  door  to  the  discovery  of  the  evidence  which  sustains  this  hy 
pothesis.  For  a  fuller  view  of  this  subject,  however,  the  present  writer 
must  refer  to  the  larger  work  already  alluded  to. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

THE  ANCIENT  INHABITANTS  OF  PERU. 

ZOOLOGICAL  and  physiological  investigations,  the  botany 
and  geology  of  a  country,  form  the  foundation  of  its  physi 
cal  history,  even  as  its  oral  traditions,  its  monuments,  inscrip 
tions,  and  annals  are  the  indispensable  materials  for  an  his 
toric  synthesis  of  its  political  and  moral  aspect.  As  an  his 
torian,  properly  so  called  (whether  anthropological  or  physi 
cal,)  one  is  under  a  strict  obligation  not  to  permit  himself  to 
be  carried  away  by  any  prejudice,  to  make  a  wise  and  im 
partial  use  of  his  materials,  to  seek  sincerely  for  the  truth, 
and  when  found,  to  admit  it  without  hesitation,  even  though 
it  may  tend  to  dissipate  opinions  entertained  from  infancy 
and  sanctioned  by  universal  reception.  The  progress  which 
various  branches  of  science  have  made  in  our  day,  places 
them  in  seeming  opposition  to  the  Hebrew  traditions  preserv 
ed  in  the  sacred  writings ;  and  of  all  these  branches,  anthro 
pology  is  sometimes  that  which,  at  first  view,  seems  to  har 
monize  least  with  the  meaning  generally  given  to  the  first 
chapters  of  Genesis  ;  as  by  ingenious  explanations  it  aims 
to  demonstrate  that  the  whole  human  race  did  not  proceed 
from  a  common  source,  and  that  the  New  Continent  was  peo 
pled  without  any  intervention  of  Eastern  emigration.  De 
clining  here  the  examination  of  a  subject  so  obscure,  we  will 
confine  ourselves  to  an  exposition  of  facts,  by  means  of 
2  (25) 


26  PERU. 

which  each  reader  may  form  for  himself  such .  an  opinion  as 
he  judges  to  be  correct. 

The  singular  conformation  of  the  Peruvian  crania,  and  the 
differences  of  structure  which  they  present  on  a  comparison 
with  later  American  crania,  have  repeatedly  been  the  subjects 
of  particular  study  to  naturalists.  To  explain  these  differ 
ences,  recourse  has  been  had  to  different  hypotheses,  none  of 
which  are  satisfactory,  because  the  learned  men  who  formed 
them  had  not  really  sufficient  materials  with  which  to  con 
struct  them.  According  to  the  recent  numerous  and  scrupu 
lously  careful  observations  of  Doctor  J.  D.  Yon  Tschudi,^  who, 
from  his  long  residence  in  Peru,  had  it  in  his  power  to  ex 
amine  hundreds  of  crania  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  that 
country,  it  would  appear  that  three  distinct  races  dwelt  there 
before  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Incas.  Let  us 
examine  the  exact  description  of  these  crania  in  each  one  of 
these  three  nations  or  races. 

FIRST  FORM. 

The  cranium,  viewed  from  the  anterior  part,  represents  a 
truncated  pyramid  with  the  base  turned  upward  ;  the  face  is 
small,  the  orbits  are  transversely  oval,  _the  upper  jaw  de 
scends  almost  perpendicularly,  the  zygomatic  processes  are 
short,  and  point  downward  almost  perpendicularly,  the  su 
perciliary  arches  are  a  little  protuberant,  the  curvature  of  the 
frontal  bone  scarcely  perceptible,  almost  perpendicular  up  to 
the  superciliary  arch,  and  thence  inclining  gradually  to  the 
coronal  suture.  The  frontal  protuberances  are  very  distinct, 
as  are  also  the  parietal  protuberances,  forming  at  the  sides 
the  most  salient  points  of  the  cranium.  Toward  the  sides 
and  behind,  both  the  parietals  are  united  in  a  direction  al- 

*  Ueber  die  Urbewohner  von  Peru  von  Dr.  J.  D.  Yon  Tschudi,  en 
Muller's  Archiv  fur  Physiologic,  1845,  pp.  98-109. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  27 

most  perpendicular  to  the  temporal  and  occipital  bones. 
The  posterior  wall  of  the  occipital  bone,  up  to  the  superior 
semicircular  line,  is  perpendicular,  and  curves  a  little  oblique 
ly  inward,  and  downward  to  the  foramen  magnum,  or  large 
occipital  hole. 

SECOND   FORM. 

Viewed  from  the  anterior  part,  the  cranium  has  an  oval  form, 
and  laterally  assumes  the  form  of  a  vault,  sufficiently  reg 
ular,  and  somewhat  elongated.  The  space  occupied  by  the 
face  is  large,  the  orbits  quadrangular,  and  the  vertical  diame 
ter  equal  to  the  transverse,  the  upper  jaw  is  slanting,  the  ex 
ternal  angular  processes  of  the  frontal  bone  short,  and  direct 
ed  strongly  outward,  the  nasal  process  very  broad  and  con 
vex.  The  frontal  bone  is  curved,  with  an  inclination  regular 
enough,  but  still  more  strongly  marked  than  in  form  the  first. 
The  superciliary  arches  are  not  very  distinct,  the  frontal 
protuberances  almost  imperceptible.  The  parietal  bones, 
from  their  junction  with  the  frontal  bone,  incline  backward 
and  downward ;  the  protuberances  of  these  bones  are  low 
down,  and  not  very  distinct,  so  that  the  transverse  diameter 
of  the  head,  measured  from  the  upper  point  of  one  zygoma- 
tic  process  to  the  other,  is  not  the  larger.  The  upper  portion 
of  the  occipital  bone  is  placed  vertically  below  the  lambdoi- 
dal  suture  about  an  inch,  but  suddenly  inclines  strongly  for 
ward,  and  continues  to  incline  thus  horizontally  to  the  fora 
men  magnum,  or  great  occipital  hole. 

THIRD   FORM. 

Viewed  from  the  anterior  part,  the  cranium  presents  the 
figure  of  a  square,  elongated  from  the  lower  and  front  parts 
towards  the  hinder  and  upper  ;  the  anterior  side  of  which, 
from  the  swell  to  its  opposite,  makes  the  transverse  the 


28  PERU. 

greater  diameter  of  the  head.  The  part  of  the  face  is  very 
well  defined,  but  shorter  than  in  the  second  form.  The  or 
bits  are  somewhat  oval,  and  their  vertical  diameter  exceeds 
the  transverse  in  length  by  some  lines.  The  nasal  process 
is  broader  than  in  the  first  form,  but  somewhat  narrower 
than  in  the  second.  The  frontal  bone  is  narrow  and  long, 
and  its  inclination  very  great.  In  many  crania  it  is  concave 
in  its  middle  portion,  and  presents,  a  little  before  its  junc 
tion  with  the  parietals,  a  strong  frontal  protuberance  in  the 
middle.  Behind  the  coronal  suture,  the  surface  of  the  cra 
nial  vault  is  concave  enough ;  and  in  this  place  the  parietals 
curve  a  little  upward,  and  then  quickly  fall  in  a  straight  line 
to  unite  with  the  occipital  bone.  This  bone,  between  the 
lambdoidal  suture  and  the  superior  semicircular  line,  inclines 
obliquely  inward,  and  from  this  spot  is  suddenly  doubled  or 
folded  downward  and  forward  till  it  reaches  the  foramen 
magnum,  or  grand  occipital  hole. 

These  important  anatomical  proportions  give  rise  to  other 
relations  no  less  interesting,  which  we  proceed  to  explain : 

I.  In  the  first  form,  the  longitudinal  or  true  diameter  of 
the  head  (from  the  glabella*  to  the  opposite  point  of  the 
occipital  bone,  a  little  above  the  superior  semicircular  line,) 
is  equal  to  the  transverse  diameter.  The  inclination  of  the 
vertex  of  the  head  to  the  first  diameter  is  68  degrees.  The 
inclination  of  the  lower  part  of  the  occipital  bone  to  the  hori 
zontal  (measured  from  the  foramen  magnum  to  the  external 
occipital  protuberance)  is  45  degrees  ;  and  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  same  bone  is  82  degrees. 

A  line  drawn  from  the  point  of  junction  of  the  parietal 


*  By  this  technical  Latin  term  is  designated  that  smooth  part  of  the 
bones  of  the  forehead  situated  between  the  two  orbits,  or  cavities,  in 
which  the  eyes  are  fixed. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  29 


with  the  frontal  bones,  and  passing  outside  of  the  cranium  to 
its  base,  would  almost  touch  the  anterior  edge  of  the  external 
opening  of  the  ear,  and  would  meet  a  corresponding  line  on 
the  opposite  side  forward  of  the  anterior  edge  of  the  foramen 
magnum,  or  great  occipital  hole.  The  angle  of  Camper  is 
77  degrees.* 

II.  In  the  second  form  the  longitudinal  or  true  diameter 
(from  the  glabella  to  the  junction  of  the  third  middle  and 
parietal  bones)  is  found  to  be,  with  respect  to  the  transverse 
diameter,  in  the  proportion  of  1  to  1*3. — The  inclination  of 
the  forehead  to  the  first  diameter  is  45  degrees. 


*  By  this  phrase  is  designated  an  important  angle  in  anthropology,  ob 
served  and  described  by  the  distinguished  Dutch  anatomist,  Dr.  Peter 
Camper ;  an  angle  whose  greater  or  less  opening  indicates  the  intellectual 
superiority  of  a  race,  and,  up  to  a  certain  point,  of  individuals.  One  of 
the  lines  which  form  it  (more  or  less  oblique)  is  drawn  from  the  most 
prominent  point  of  the  forehead  to  the  extreme  projection  of  the  upper 
jaw ;  the  other  is  horizontal,  and  passes  from  the  entrance  of  the  ear  (the 
meatus  audttorius)  to  the  former  line.  The  angle  thus  formed,  sometimes 
called  the  facial  angle,  is  almost  a  right  angle  in  the  Greek  statues  and  in 
the  present  types  of  the  Caucasian  race. 


30  PERU. 


The  inclination  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  occipital  bone 
from  the  foramen  magnum  to  the  upper  semicircular  line  is 
only  17  degrees  ;  from  this  last  to  the  upper  fifth  part  of  the 
occipital  bone  is  55,  and  the  inclination  of  the  upper  fifth  is 
85  degrees.  The  line  before  named,  drawn  from  the  junc 
tion  of  the  coronal  suture  with  the  longitudinal  to  the  base, 
will  pass  behind  the  mastoid  process,  and  is  met  by  its  cor 
responding  opposite  in  the  middle  of  the  foramen  magnum. 
The  angle  of  Camper  is  68  degrees. 

III.  In  the  third  form,  the  longitudinal  or  true  diameter 
(from  the  glabella  to  the  point  of  junction  of  the  longitudinal 
suture  with  the  lambdoidal)  is  found,  in  the  proportion  to 
the  transverse  diameter,  of  1  to  1*5. — The  inclination  of  the 
forehead  to  the  first  diameter  reaches  23  degrees  only  ;  the 
inclination  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  occipital  bone  is  32 
degrees ;  that  of  the  upper  portion  is  60  degrees.  The  line 
drawn  from  the  angle  formed  by  the  coronal  and  longitudi 
nal  suture  to  the  base  of  the  cranium  touches  the  point  of 
junction  of  the  parietal,  temporal  and  occipital  bones,  and  is 
met  by  a  corresponding  line  on  the  opposite  side,  between 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


31 


the  posterior  edge  of  the  foramen  magnum  and  the  lower 
semicircular  line.  The  angle  of  Camper  is  69  degrees. 

We  will  now  examine  the  geographical  distribution  of 
these  three  races. 

The  first  occupied  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  uninhabited  region  of  Tumbes,  on  the 
south  by  the  immense  desert  of  Atacama,  on  the  east  by 
the  Cordilleras,  and  on  the  west  by  the  ocean.  This  race 
we  designate  by  the  name  of  the  CHIXCHAS,  after  that  of  the 
most  noted  tribe  that  dwelt  between  the  10th  and  14th  de 
grees  of  south  latitude.  The  crania  of  this  race  are  to  be 
met  with  in  almost  all  the  anthropological  collections  of 
Europe,  it  being  very  easy  to  obtain  them  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Peruvian  ports  and  harbors,  where  they  lie  scarce  hidden 
by  a  light  covering  of  sand.  There  are  among  them  varie 
ties,  artificially  produced,  and  differing  according  to  their 
respective  localities ;  sometimes  the  head  is  found  very  much 
flattened  on  the  right  side,  and  at  other  times  on  the  left,  so 
that  the  protuberance  of  the  parietal  bone  on  one  side  is  little 
or  none,  while  it  shows  itself  very  prominent  on  the  other ; 
there  are  some  specimens  in  which  the  upper  portion  of  the 


32  PERU. 

occipital  bone  is  so  much  depressed  that  the  parietal  bones 
protrude  considerably.  These  irregularities  were  undoubt 
edly  produced  by  mechanical  causes,  and  were  considered  as 
the  distinctive  marks  of  families ;  for  in  one  Huaca*  will 
always  be  found  the  same  form  of  crania ;  while  in  another, 
near  by,  the  forms  are  entirely  different  from  those  of  the 
first. 

The  second  race  inhabited  the  vast  Peru-Bolivian  eleva 
tions  which  raise  themselves  twelve  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  M.  D'Orbigny  distinguishes  them  by  the 
name  of  the  AYMAEAES.  In  this  race  commenced  the  dy 
nasty  of  the  Incas,  which,  in  the  space  of  a  few  centuries, 
subjected  to  its  dominion  the  other  tribes.  The  crania  of 
these  people  present  differences  equally  remarkable,  according 
to  their  respective  localities,  and  particularly  in  the  contour 
of  the  arch  of  the  cranium. 

It  is  proper  here  to  remark  that  there  is  a  very  striking 
conformity  between  the  configuration  of  this  race  and  that 
of  the  Guanches,  or  inhabitants  of  the  Canaries,  who  used 
also  the  same  mode  of  preserving  the  bodies  of  their  dead  ; 
and  this  resemblance  is  another  proof  which  lends  support 
to  what  is  stated  in.  the  document  or  history  of  Yotan,  be 
fore  referred  to. 

The  third  race,  concerning  which  we  have  not  so  much 
positive  information,  occupied  the  territory  comprehended 
between  the  Cordilleras  and  the  Andes,  and  between  the 
degrees  of  9  and  14  of  south  latitude.f  This  race,  which  we 

*  A  Huaca  is  a  place  of  interment. — [TRANSLATOR.] 

t  These  names  are  not  unfrequently  confounded.  There  are  two  great 
mountain  ranges  in  Peru,  running  parallel  to  the  Pacific.  The  nearest 
is  at  an  average  distance  of  60  or  70  miles  from  the  sea ;  the  other  is  fur 
ther  inland.  The  western  chain  is  what  our  author  calls  the  Cordillera, 
and  the  eastern  is  the  Andes.  See  Yon  Tschudi's  remarks  on  this  subject. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  33 

call  the  nation  of  the  HUANCAS,  after  the  name  of  the  most 
powerful  of  the  tribes  which  composed  it,  offers  a  very  rare 
and  characteristic  formation,  which  cannot  for  a  moment  be 
confounded  with  either  of  the  preceding,  and  distinguishes  it 
also  from  the  heterogeneous  nations  which  we  sometimes  find 
mixed  up  "with  it. 

As  we  have  intimated,  the  race  of  the  Aymaraes  was  the 
root  of  the  Incas  or  Peruvian  emperors,  and  to  them  is  to  be 
attributed  that  spreading  movement  from  south  to  north 
(attested  by  the  history  of  these  vast  regions),  the  conse 
quences  of  which  were  the  conquest  of  the  adjacent  nations, 
and  the  modifications  and  changes,  both  physical  and  moral, 
which,  by  reason  of  their  conquest,  the  races  who  peopled 
them  underwent.  The  Huancas,  as  being  the  nearest,  were 
subdued  first;  afterwards  followed  the  Chinchas,  and  both 
the  conquered  people  found  themselves  under  the  necessity 
of  yielding  to  the  law  of  the  strongest,  and  of  adopting  the 
customs,  religion  and  laws  of  their  conquerors  ;  the  natural 
result  of  this,  in  time,  was  a  frequent  mixture  of  the  several 
races  with  each  other,  and  a  consequent  mixed  formation  in 
the  crania  of  the  new  generations. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  have  at  our  command  suffi 
cient  materials  by  means  of  which  to  sift  out  the  primitive 
relations  of  these  several  races  ;  and  every  synthesis,  framed 
in  the  absence  of  such  materials,  will  necessarily  be  errone 
ous,  hasty  and  inconsistent. 

And  here  two  questions  present  themselves  : 

I.  What  was  the  cranial  configuration  of  the  primitive  or 
real  Indians  ? 

in  the  very  interesting  and  valuable  account  of  his  travels  in  Peru,  Ch. 
XI.  An  English  translation  of  this  book  was  published  by  Putnam,  in 
1847.— [TRANSLATOR.] 

2* 


34  PERU. 

II.  Can  there  be  found  anywhere,  now  existing,  the  races 
above  named,  pure  and  without  any  mixture  ? 

The  most  scrupulous  investigations  on  these  points  have 
furnished  us  with  the  following  results  : 

First.  The  true  Indians,  who,  although  dwelling  in  that 
part  of  Peru  formerly  under  the  power  of  the  Spaniards, 
were  never  mingled  in  blood  with  Europeans  or  Africans, 
indicate  by  the  formation  of  their  crania  a  race  very  distinct 
from  all  the  other  tribes  of  South  America,  so  that  they 
might  be  considered  a  really  primitive  race,  were  it  not  that 
the  facts  brought  to  light  incontestably  prove  that  they  pro 
ceed  from  the  union  of  the  three  races  already  described. 

Thus  the  cranium,  in  its  contour,  assumes  the  square  form 
of  the  Chinchas.  The  size  of  the  face  is  large,  the  upper 
jaw  sufficiently  projecting  and  oblique,  the  orbits  square,  the 
zygomatic  process  strongly  developed  and  inclining  back 
ward,  the  nasal  process  near  the  frontal  bone  very  strikingly 
convex,  and  then  descending  perpendicularly  ;  the  curvature 
of  the  forehead  has,  as  in  the  Aymaraes,  an  inclination 
clearly  marked  from  the  glabella,  the  frontal  protuberances 
are  scarcely  perceptible,  the  vault  of  the  cranium  is  thick, 
the  posterior  part  of  the  frontal  bone  and  both  the  parietal 
bones  are  like  those  of  the  Huancas,  although  the  point  of 
union  of  these  last  bones  with  the  upper  part  of  the  occipital 
recalls  the  configuration  of  the  Aymaraes,  the  occipital 
curving  from  the  lambdoidal  suture  gently  at  the  beginning, 
and  more  rapidly  afterwards  to  the  base  of  the  cranium. 

The  right  diameter  of  the  cranium  passes,  as  in  those  of 
the  Huancas,  from  the  glabella  to  the  point  of  union  of  the 
lambdoidal  with  the  longitudinal  suture ;  but,  as  in  the  cra 
nia  of  the  Aymaraes,  the  greater  transverse  diameter  passes 
from  the  upper  root  of  the  zygomatic  process  of  the  temporal 
bone  to  the  same  point  on  the  opposite  side.  The  propor- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  35 

tion  which  it  bears  to  the  first  diameter  is  as  1  to  1-1 ;  con 
sequently  a  greater  approximation  than  to  the  proportion  of 
the  Chinchas  crania,  which  is  as  1  to  I/O. 

Although  the  greater  number  of  the  crania  of  the  true  In 
dians  is  in  accordance  with  these  statements,  yet  there  are 
numerous  exceptions,  and  an  approximation  greater  or  less 
to  the  three  primitive  races ;  an  approximation  which  de 
pends  on  the  provinces  in  which  the  Indians  live,  since  we  ob 
serve  that  one  or  the  other  of  the  primitive  forms  predominates 
more  or  less  in  those  regions  which  have  been  from  a  remote 
epoch  the  home  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  typical  races. 

Secondly.  The  second  question  is  of  great  importance,  see 
ing  that  from  its  resolution  the  proof  is  drawn,  whether  the 
formation  of  the  crania  is  or  is  not  the  result  of  mechanical 
pressure.  Many  physiologists,  as  it  would  seem,  generally 
consider  these  forms  anomalous,  and  as  an  effect  produced  on 
the  heads  of  children  entirely  by  pressure  with  small  boards, 
or  broad  swathes,  with  which  it  was  usual  to  squeeze  the 
crania  of  infants.  It  is  notorious  enough  that  such  a  prac 
tice  did  obtain  among  various  barbarous  nations  of  the  New 
World ;  and  that  it  existed  among  the  Chinchas  for  the  sake 
of  producing  distinctive  marks  in  families ;  an  abuse  which 
was  forbidden  by  an  apostolic  bull  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
But,  in  our  opinion,  those  physiologists  are  undoubtedly  in 
error,  who  suppose  that  the  different  phrenological  aspects 
offered  by  the  Peruvian  race  were  exclusively  artificial.  This 
hypothesis  rests  on  insufficient  grounds ;  its  authors  could 
have  made  their  observations  solely  on  the  crania  of  adult 
individuals,  as  it  is  only  a  few  years  since  two  mummies  of 
children  were  carried  to  England,  which,  according  to  the 
very  exact  description  of  Dr.  Bellamy,*  belonged  to  the  tribe 

*  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  October,  1842. 


36 


PERU. 


of  Aymaraes.  The  two  crania  (both  of  children  scarce  a  year 
old)  had,  in  all  respects,  the  same  form  as  those  of  adults. 
We  ourselves  have  observed  the  same  fact  in  many  mum 
mies  of  children  of  tender  age,  who,  although  they  had  cloths 
about  them,  were  yet  without  any  vestige  or  appearance  of 
pressure  of  the  cranium. 

More  still :  the  same  formation  of  the  head  presents  itself 
in  children  yet  unborn ;  and  of  this  truth  we  have  had  con 
vincing  proof  in  the  sight  of  a  foetus,  enclosed  in  the  womb 


FRONT    AND     SIDE     YIEW. 


of  a  mummy  of  a  pregnant  woman,  which  we  found  in  a  cave 
of  Huichay,  two  leagues  from  Tarma,  and  which  is,  at  this 
moment,  in  our  collection.  Professor  D'Outrepont,  of  great 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  37 

celebrity  in  the  department  of  obstetrics,  has  assured  us  that 
the  foetus  is  one  of  seven  months'  age.  It  belongs,  according 
to  a  very  clearly  defined  formation  of  the  cranium,  to  'the 
tribe  of  the  Huancas.  We  present  the  reader  with  a  draw 
ing  of  this  conclusive  and  interesting  proof  in  opposition  to 
the  advocates  of  mechanical  action  as  the  sole  and  exclusive 
cause  of  the  phrenological  form  of  the  Peruvian  race. 

The  same  proof  is  to  be  found  in  another  mummy  which 
exists  in  the  museum  of  Lima,  under  the  direction  of  Don 
M.  E.  de  Rivero. 

It  is  not  possible  to  explain  how,  by  means  of  pressure  with 
fillets  or  bandages,  the  occipital  bone  can  be  transformed  to 
a  plane  almost  horizontal,  without  producing,  at  the  same 
time,  a  considerable  declination  of  the  sinciput;  which  last 
is  entirely  wanting  in  the  Aymaraes,  and  which  we  yet  find  in 
the  Huancas,  whose  occiputs,  notwithstanding,  show  no  sign  of 
pressure,  not  being,  by  any  means,  able  to  preserve  their  regu 
lar  inclination  as  the  points  of  resistance  to  a  frontal  pressure. 

The  considerable  extension  in  length  of  the  frontal  bone  of 
the  parietals,  and  of  the  occipital  in  the  last  two  races,  might 
sometimes  lead  one  to  suspect  pressure  on  the  sides ;  but  to 
this  opinion  is  opposed  the  inclination  of  the  frontal  and  oc 
cipital  bone ;  but  the  most  effectual  proof  against  the  use  of 
mechanical  means  will,  after  all,  be  found  in  the  actual  exist 
ence  of  the  three  races  in  distinct  though  limited  localities,  in 
which  there  cannot  be  found  any  traces  of  envelopment  or 
pressure  of  the  head  in  the  newly-born. 

We  can  therefore  assert  with  certainty : 

I.  That  the  race  of  the  Chinchas  is  actually  found,  without 
any  admixture,   in  various  towns  as  well  of  the  coast  of 
Northern  Peru,  as  of  the  province  of  the  Yauyos. 

II.  That  the  tribe  of  the  Aymaraes  is  still  found  in  the 
sierras  of  Southern  Peru. 


38  PERU. 

III.  That  in  some  families  of  the  department  of  Junin, 
the  tribe  of  the  Huancas  is  preserved  pure,  as  we  have  had 
occasion  ourselves  to  see. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  proper  to  notice  an  osteologic 
anomaly,  very  interesting,  which  is  observed  in  the.  crania 
of  all  the  three  races ;  and  it  is  this :  that  those  of  children  of 
tender  years,  in  the  first  months  after  their  birth,  present 
an  interparietal  bone  (os  interparietale)  perfectly  distinct ;  a 
bone  which,  as  its  name  indicates,  will  be  found  placed  be 
tween  the  two  parietals,  and  having  a  form  more  or  less  tri 
angular,  whose  sharpest  angle  is  above,  and  is  bounded  by 
the  posterior  edges  of  the  parietal  bones,  while  its  base  at 
taches  itself  to  the  occipital  bone,  by  a  suture  which  runs, 
from  the  angle  of  union  of  the  temporal  with  the  occipital 
bone,  a  little  above  the  upper  semicircular  line,  to  the  simi 
lar  angle  on  the  opposite  side.  It  follows  that  this  inter- 


parietal  bone  occupies  precisely  that  part  of  the  occiput 
which  in  the  other  crania  is  occupied  by  the  upper  portion 
of  the  occipital,  and  which  is  connected  with  the  parietals 
by  the  lambdoidal  suture. 

At  four  or  five  months  this  bone  is  regularly  united  to  the 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  39 

occipital,  and  the  union  begins  at  the  middle  of  the  suture, 
and  advances  by  little  and  little  towards  both  sides  ;  although 
even  after  a  year  it  is  not  found  completely  effected,  but  in 
the  middle  only ;  a  furrow  shows  the  trace  of  the  suture  ; 
this  farrow  is  not  obliterated  even  at  the  most  advanced  age, 
and  may  be  easily  recognized  in  all  the  crania  of  all  these  races. 
Sometimes  the  union  takes  place  very  slowly,  as  in  the  cra 
nium  above,  which  is  that  of  a  youth  of  the  Chinchas,  of 
ten  or  twelve  years  old,  in  which  the  occipital  suture  may  be 
seen  open  through  its  whole  length.  The  length  of  the  in- 
terparietal  bone  in  this  individual  is  four  inches  at  the  base, 
and  an  inch  and  ten  lines  high :  dimensions  which  sufficient 
ly  prove  that  this  singular  formation  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  that  of  the  small  supernumerary  bones  called  Wormia- 
na,  which  are  uniformly  found  between  the  parietals  in  all 
human  crania ;  so  that  this  interparietal  bone  is  a  true 
anomaly. 

Dr.  Bellamy  was  the  first  who  made  mention  of  this  bone, 
which  he  had  occasion  to  remark  in  one  of  the  mummies  be 
fore  mentioned.  Among  the  numerous  crania  which  we  had 
the  opportunity  to  examine  in  Peru,  we  have  had  the  means 
of  convincing  ourselves  that  this  suture  is  invariably  found 
either  open,  or  closed  in  part,  or  completely  united  to  the 
occipital  bone,  and  well  indicated  by  a  furrow  very  clearly 
marked. 

It  is  a  circumstance  worthy  of  the  attention  of  learned  an 
thropologists,  that  there  is  thus  found  in  one  section  of  the 
human  race  a  perpetual  anomalous  phenomenon,  which  is 
wanting  in  all  others,  but  which  is  characteristic  of  the  rumi 
nant  and  carnivorous  animals.* 

*  Mr.  Prescott  informs  us  that  the  crania  of  the  Inca  race  manifest  an 
incontestable  superiority  over  the  other  races  of  the  country  on  the  score 
of  intelligence ;  and  to  this  intellectual  superiority,  announced  externally 


40  PERU. 

"We  mucli  regret  that  a  want  of  materials  does  not  permit 
us  to  describe  the  formation  of  the  crania  of  the  barbarous 
Indians  on  the  eastern  side  of  Peru. 

Enough,  however,  has  been  said  to  enable  the  reader  to 
form  a  general  opinion  upon  the  physical  constitution  of  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Peru.  We  will  now  proceed  to  a  his 
tory  of  the  country  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards. 

by  the  cranium,  this  eminent  writer  attributes  the  origin  of  that  remark 
able  civilization  and  social  polity  which  made  the  Peruvian  monarchy 
superior  to  all  the  other  States  of  South  America.  The  work  of  Dr.  Mor 
ton  referred  to  by  Mr.  Prescott  contains  various  drawings  of  the  Inca 
cranium,  and  also  of  the  common  Peruvian  cranium,  proving  that  the 
facial  angle  of  the  first,  although  not  very  large,  was  much  greater  than 
that  of  the  second,  which  was  particularly  flat,  and  wanting  in  intellec 
tual  character. —  Crania  Americana.  (Philadelphia,  1829.) 

We  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  all  the  Peruvian  crania,  figured  in  the 
work  of  Dr.  Morton,  belong  to  those  of  the  tribes  which  we  have  de 
scribed  in  this  chapter ;  doubting,  as  we  do  doubt,  whether  this  learned 
anthropologist  had  it  in  his  power  to  obtain  crania  of  the  royal  family  of  the 
Incas:  for  with  the  exception  of  the  mummies  of  the  four  emperors  which 
were  carried  to  Lima,  and  which  were  buried  in  a  court  or  yard  of  Santa 
Anna,  and  the  remains  of  which  it  has  been  impossible  to  discover,  up  to  this 
day  the  sepulchres  of  the  others  are  unknown,  as  well  as  of  the  nobility 
descended  from  them.  If  at  this  day  uncertainty  exists  as  to  the  remains 
of  Francis  Pizarro,  deposited  in  the  vaults  of  the  cathedral  church  at 
Lima,  how  much  more  difficult  must  it  be  to  affirm  with  certainty  that 
Dr.  Morton  or  any  other  person  has  really  possessed  crania  of  the  Inca 
race  ?  Besides,  would  they  not  have  undergone  modifications  by  inter 
mixture  with  other  noble  races  of  different  tribes  existing  in  the  capital? 


NOTE. 

THE  subject  embraced  in  this  chapter  is  one  admitting  of,  perhaps,  no 
illustration  beyond  that  afforded  by  the  text  itself.  While  more  particu 
larly  attractive  to  the  physiologist,  it  presents  two  or  three  important 
facts  of  interest  to  the  general  reader. 

First.  It  shows  that  the  crania  of  Dr.  Morton's  work  are  not,  as  he 
supposed,  crania  of  the  Incas ;  and  consequently  the  inferences  from  the 
erroneous  opinion  he  entertained  are  no  longer  admissible. 

Secondly.  It  proves  that  all  the  peculiarities  of  cranial  conformation, 
heretofore  referred,  without  exception,  to  external  causes,  such  as  pres 
sure,  are  not,  in  every  instance,  thus  produced.  In  some  cases  they  are 
natural. 

Third.  An  anomaly  characteristic  of  the  ruminant  and  carnivorous  ani 
mals  would  seem  to  exist  in  the  ancient  Peruvian  crania.  On  this  sub 
ject,  we  are  indebted  to  a  professional  friend,  from  whom  we  sought  in 
formation,  for  the  following  note. 

"  The  ossa  Wormiana  are  small  bones,  found  occasionally  in  all  the  su 
tures  of  the  skull,  but  most  frequently  in  the  lambdoidal,  which  separates 
the  occipital  from  the  parietal  bones.  These  ossa  Wormiana  vary  in  size, 
from  two  lines  to  two  inches  in  diameter.  They  are  very  variable  in 
position  and  shape,  as  well  as  in  size,  and  are  mostly  of  an  irregular  form. 
The  largeness  of  size,  regularity  of  form,  uniformity  of  shape,  and  position 
of  the  interparietal  bones,  described  by  the  author,  distinguish  them  from 
the  ossa  Wormiana.  and  seem  to  confirm  his  opinion  that  the  ancient 
Peruvian  skulls  are  peculiar,  and  mark  a  distinct  and  lower  type  of  organ 
ization." 


(41) 


CHAPTEE    III. 

CONSIDERATIONS    ON    THE    HISTORY  OF  PERU,   BEFORE  THE 
ARRIVAL   OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

THE  origin  of  the  Peruvian  empire,  like  that  of  all  known 
nations,  is  found  involved  in  fables  and  incredible  traditions, 
hiding  thereby  the  truth,  which  it  is  very  difficult,  and,  at 
times,  impossible  to  disentangle.  Man's  inclination  for  the 
marvellous,  his  ignorance  of  its  causes,  the  magical  perspect 
ive  of  recollection,  the  intentional  imposture  of  the  priest 
hood,  and  above  all  individual  patriotism,  or  the  collective 
pride  of  the  race,  induced  the  majority  of  the  people  to  ap 
propriate  to  themselves  a  special  protection  from  heaven,  and 
to  attribute  a  divine  origin  to  their  chiefs.  The  PERUVIANS 
believed  that  the  SUN,  a  tutelar  divinity  of  their  empire,  had 
sent  his  own  sons  to  reform  and  instruct  them,  of  whom  the 
descendants  were  their  INCAS  or  EMPERORS.  Previous  to  the 
arrival  of  these  children  of  the  Sun,  PERU,  like  the  other  ter 
ritories  of  the  NEW  WORLD,  was  found,  according  to  tradi 
tion,  divided  into  several  nations,  or  independent  tribes,  wan 
dering  or  fixed,  rude  and  ferocious,  whose  unteachable  and 
warlike  disposition  prompted  them  to  battle  continually 
among  themselves.  Ignorant  of  all  industry  and  culture, 
knowing  no  law  of  morality,  nor  any  social  compact,  wan 
dering  through  the  forests,  more  resembling  the  brutes  than 
the  human  race,  subjected  to  the  inclemency  of  the  elements, 

(42) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  43 

and  to  the  molestations  and  evils  consequent  upon  this  sav 
age  state,  none-  teaching  them  that  they  might  better  their 
condition ;  such  was  their  state,  when  the  merciful  FATHER, 
the  SUN,  placed  two  of  his  children  on  the  lake  of  TITICACA, 
and  told  them  "that  they  might  go  where  they  wished,  and 
wheresoever  they  pleased ;  they  might  stop  to  eat  and  to  sleep ; 
commanded  them  to  place  in  the  ground  a  small  wedge  of 
gold,  which  he  gave  them,  informing  them  that  where  that 
wedge  should  sink  at  one  blow,  and  go  into  the  earth,  there 
the  SUN  wished  them  to  stop,  and  make  their  residence  and 
court.  Arrived  at  the  valley  of  Cuzco,  after  having  vainly 
tried,  through  all  the  roads  where  they  had  travelled,  to  sink 
the  wedge,  they  found  themselves  on  the  ridge  of  HUANAN- 
CAURI,  and  there  endeavored  anew  to  sink  the  small  wedge, 
which  went  in  with  so  much  facility  at  the  first  blow,  that 
they  saw  it  no  more.  Then  said  the  man  to  his  sister  and 
wife,  *  In  this  valley,  our  father,  the  SUN,  commands  us  to 
stop  and  make  it  our  seat  and  residence,  to  accomplish  his 
will.  It  is  necessary  that  we  take  different  ways,  and  that 
each  should  attempt  to  draw  together  and  attract  these  peo 
ple,  to  indoctrinate  them,  and  accomplish  the  good,  which  our 
father,  the  SUN,  commands.'  "* 

From  the  ridge  of  Huanancauri,  the  man  went  to  the  north, 
and  the  woman  to  the  south,  and  harangued  the  multitudes, 
exhorting  them  to  unite,  to  embrace  another  life,  and  to  re 
ceive  as  gifts  from  heaven  the  counsels  and  instructions  which 
they  condescended  to  give  by  order  of  their  father,  the  SUN. 
Fascinated  by  their  appearance,  and  confirmed  by  the  respect 
with  which  these  extraordinary  beings  inspired  them,  the  wan 
dering  tribes  followed  them  to  the  valley  of  Cuzco,  where 
they  laid  the  foundation  of  a  city.  This  region  was  the  central 

*  Garcilasso  de  la  Yega's  Royal  Commentaries.  Yol.  I.,  Book  1,  Chap. 
XY.  and  XYI. 


4A  PEEU. 

district  of  those  tribes,  and  its  name,  according  to  GrARCI- 
LASSO,  in  the  language  of  the  INC  AS,  signifies  navel;  and  it  is 
certain,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  natives,  that  as 
the  navel  is  the  source  whence  the  infant  receives  life  and 
growth  in  the  womb,  the  plane  of  Cuzco  was  the  nucleus  of 
civilization,  and  the  focus  of  light,  for  the  State,  founded  by 
Manco-Capac,  and  Mamd-Oello  Huaco,  as  the  celestial  couple 
were  called. 

These  children  of  the  SUN  established  a  social  union  be 
tween  the  several  Peruvian  tribes,  combined  their  united 
forces,  enlarged  their  desires,  and  gave  a  new  and  more  ele 
vated  turn  to  their  thoughts.  MANCO-CAPAC  taught  the  men 
agriculture,  industry,  and  useful  arts.  At  the  same  time  the 
wise  legislator  wished  to  give  to  them  a  more  solid  and  en 
during  happiness,  by  means  of  adequate  laws,  a  social  com 
pact,  and  a  political  system  perfectly  organized,  a  minute 
description  of  which  we  are  compelled  at  present  to  pass  by, 
that  being  the  object  of  our  latter  chapters,  while  our  present 
aim  is  solely  the  historical  description  of  the  Peruvian  em 
pire.  On  the  other  hand,  MAMA-OELLO  taught  the  women 
the  art  of  spinning,  weaving,  dyeing,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
the  domestic  virtues,  becoming  grace,  chastity,  and  conj  ugal 
fidelity. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  monarchy  of  the  INC  AS,  children 
of  the  SUN,  and  descendants  in  a  direct  line  from  MANCO- 
CAPAC  and  MAMA-OELLO.  Small  in  their  origin,  they  ex 
tended  but  little  distance  beyond  Cuzco ;  but  within  these 
narrow  precincts  MANCO-CAPAC  exercised  an  authority  with 
out  limits,  and  the  same  rights  were  preserved  by  his  suc 
cessors,  in  proportion  as  they  augmented  by  arms  the  bounds 
of  the  empire.  The  authority  of  the  INCA  equalled  that  of 
the  most  powerful  monarchs  of  the  world. 

To  this  unlimited  power  was  allied,  according  to  the  tra- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  45 

ditions  of  the  INDIANS,  a  tender  affection  for  their  subjects, 
and  a  great  anxiety  for  the  good  of  the  people ;  not  making 
conquests  to  gratify  a  vain  ambition,  but  from  a  simple  de 
sire  to  make  the  barbarous  nations  whom  they  conquered 
participators  in  the  advantages  of  civilization. 

Thus  assures  us  GARCILASSO  DE  LA  VEGA,  a  descendant 
of  the  same  INCAS,  whose  writings  will  be  the  first  which  we 
shall  examine  in  the  brief  review  which  we  propose  making 
of  some  of  the  principal  authors  who  have  treated  of  the  Pe 
ruvian  history  and  archaeology,  as  much  for  the  purpose  of 
searching  to  the  bottom  of  the  traditions  and  documents  which 
it  contains,  as  to  guard  the  reader  against  the  tone  of  pane 
gyric  of  the  author,  which  is  quite  enough  of  itself  to  cause 
him  to  be  distrusted,  even  were  there  not  other  and  greater 
grounds  for  suspicion.  GARCILASSO  DE  LA  VEGA  is,  of  all 
the  writers  of  Peruvian  antiquity,  the  most  important,  and  he 
who  best  deserves  to  fix  our  attention  ;  and  as  being  a  de 
scendant  of  the  ancient  Peruvian  dynasty,  none  other  has 
reached  so  great  celebrity,  nor  has  any  been  so  much  quoted 
by  more  recent  historians. 

Our  author,  the  son  of  GARCILASSO  DE  LA  VEGA,  (a  parti 
san  of  GONZALO  PIZARRO,)  and  of  one  Snista,  niece  of  Hu- 
AYNA-CAPAC,  and  grand-daughter  of  the  INCA,  TUPAC-YUPAN- 
QUI,  was  born  in  Cuzcoin  1540.  A  want  of  culture,  conse 
quent  upon  the  origin  of  his  mother,  and  the  adventurous 
life  of  the  father,  caused  his  education  to  be  neglected  until 
he  reached  the  age  of  eighteen  or  twenty  years.  Without 
doubt  his  natural  disposition,  and  assiduous  application  after 
ward,  supplied,  in  part,  this  want  of  education. 

The  young  GARCILASSO  went  to  SPAIN  in  1558  or  1560, 
and  embraced  a  military  career,  distinguishing  himself  in 
various  encounters,  and  reaching  the  rank  of  CaptaiD,  under 


46  PERU. 

the  command  of  DON  JOHN  of  AUSTRIA;  but  the  vengeful 
court  of  SPAIN  did  not  forget  that  G-ABCILASSO,  the  father, 
had  embraced  the  revolutionary  side,  and  followed  in  all  his 
dangerous  enterprises  GONZALO-PIZARRO,  and  hence  distrust 
rested  upon  the  son,  who,  in  consequence,  despairing  of  ever 
attaining  to  eminence  in  his  career,  or  of  fixing  upon  any 
other  occupation  which  seemed  suited  to  his  birth,  threw  up 
his  commission  and  retired  to  CORDOVA,  where  he  devoted 
himself  to  science  and  literary  pursuits.  At  seventy  years 
of  age  he  published  the  first  part  of  his  Royal  Commentaries, 
his  most  important  work,  and  that  which  at  present  occupies 
us.  This  was  composed  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-two 
chapters,  divided  into  nine  books,  and  contains  the  condition 
of  PERU  before  the  INCAS,  their  origin,  their  history,  con 
quest  and  laws ;  the  political  and  religious  customs  of  the 
different  nations  which  formed  the  vast  empire  of  Peru;  the 
state  of  science  and  the  arts  under  the  government  of  its 
kings,  and  numerous  documents  relative  to  the  language, 
geography  and  natural  history  of  the  country. 

The  Peruvian  origin  of  GARCILASSO,  an  origin  of  which 
he  was  proud,  and  of  which  he  reminds  you  every  moment, 
the  grave  confidence  with  which  he  details  the  narrative  of 
past  events,  whether  it  be  concerning  the  history  of  his 
country,  or  relative  to  the  biography  of  individuals,  his 
assiduous  labors  and  seeming  impartiality,  as  resulting  from 
his  double  European  and  American  descent,  have  gained  for 
him  general  approbation,  a  unanimous  confidence  in  the 
truth  of  his  relations,  universal  fame ;  and  for  his  work  the 
character  of  the  most  important  monument  of  ancient  Peru 
vian  history  ;  but  notwithstanding  all  this,  a  scrupulous  and 
conscientious  analysis  will  find  him  defective  under  more 
than  one  head,  and  a  more  exacting  and  severe  criticism  will 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  47 

pronounce  him  too  credulous,  insufficient  in  his  proofs,  and 
wanting  in  that  impartiality  which  a  historian  of  modern 
as  well  as  ancient  events  requires. 

The  sources  of  GARCILASSO'S  knowledge  are  principally 
the  informations  of  his  mother  and  one  of  his  uncles,  and  his 
own  observations  relative  to  the  customs  and  religion  of  his 
countrymen  ;  all  of  which  he  began  to  note  first,  when  he  re 
tired  from  the  military  service  ;  when  without  delay  he  opened 
a  correspondence  with  some  friends  of  his,  who  inhabited 
PERU,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  additional  information, 
and  of  refreshing  his  memory.  His  work  was  published  in 
Lisbon,  in  1609,  fifty  years  after  the  author  had  left  his 
country  ;  but  the  manuscript  was  completed  in  1570  or  1575, 
an  epoch  when  it  was  natural  that  the  descendant  of  the 
INCAS  should  find  a  difficulty  in  publishing  it  in  SPAIN. 

The  most  serious  fault  of  GARCILASSO  is  his  evident  par 
tiality  ;  this  is  the  greatest  defect  of  a  historian.  Daz 
zled  by  his  royal  origin,  he  made  an  effort  to  portray  his 
ancestors,  the  INCAS,  as  ideal  monarchs,  as  great  legislators 
and  warriors,  and  to  present  them  under  the  aspect  of 
inventors  and  protectors  of  the  arts  and  sciences ;  heaping 
encomiums  upon  them,  the  monotony  of  which  is  continued 
throughout,  until  the  latest  periods  of  his  history,  in  which 
verification  is  more  easy,  and  the  perspective  less  illusive 
for  being  nearer.  Arrived  at  the  epoch  of  the  IXCA  HUAS- 
CAR,  Garcilasso,  nearest  relative  of  this  chief,  zealously  took 
his  part,  and  the  ties  of  relationship  blinded  his  judgment ; 
and  this  single  instance  is  sufficient  to  prove  the  little  faith 
deserved  by  a  historian  who  is  so  partial,  and  has  always  so 
little  skill  when  he  speaks  of  his  parents  and  ancestors. 
Another  proof  is  the  tenacity  with  which  he  defends  the  ille 
gal  actions  of  GoxzALO-PiZARRO,  without  other  motive  than 
that  his  father  fought  under  the  banner  of  this  commander. 


48  PERU. 

We  must  also  notice  that  the  commentaries  of  GARCILASSO 
in  several  places,  are  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  state 
ments  of  his  predecessors^  such  as  ACOSTA,  FRAY  MARCOS  DE 
NIZA,  PEDRO  CIEZA  DE  LEON,  FRANCISCO  LOPEZ  DE  GOMARA, 
BALBOA  ZARATE,  and  others,  as  also  to  several  of  his  suc 
cessors  ;  it  being  easy  to  convince  one's  self,  by  a  comparison  of 
the  text,  that  the  tales  and  allegations  are  false,  not  through 
ignorance,  and  scantiness  of  information,  but  through  the 
partiality  of  the  author,  who  omits  or  falsifies  all  which  tends 
to  oppose  his  views.  As  little  can  it  be  denied  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  statements  of  his  commentaries  want  a 
sufficient  foundation,  and  it  is  necessary  to  recollect  that  the 
whole  work  is  a  tissue  of  compilations  of  traditions ;  and 
the  truth  of  this  assertion  is  evident,  if  we  consider  that  Gar- 
cilasso  inserted,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  improved  the 
narrations,  which  from  the  lips  of  his  parents  and  of  ignorant 
and  superstitious  Indians  he  heard  in  his  youth,  when  the 
mind  is  incapable  of  the  discernment  and  ripeness  which 
historical  analysis  requires  to  separate  truth  from  the  fables 
and  stories  which  gather  so  thickly  upon  the  current  of  time. 
Add  to  this  that  GARCILASSO  published  his  work  half  a  cen 
tury  after  leaving  his  country,  far  from  the  scene  of  the 
events  he  relates  ;  facts  sufficient  to  make  his  narrations  sus 
picious  to  the  discerning  reader.  Finally,  voung  GARCILASSO 
did  not  understand  the  difficult  art  of  deciphering  the  QUIPOS, 
an  important  deficiency,  which  neither  an  abundance  of  tra 
ditions  nor  ingenious  conjectures  could  supply. 

Our  object  in  inserting  this  notice  is  to  make  all  readers 
and  historians  who  consult  the  work  of  GARCILASSO,  most 
cautious. 

The  arrival  of  MANCO-CAPAC  took  place  in  1021,  of  the 
vulgar  era,  according  to  the  current  opinion,  and  his  reign 
lasted  forty  years.  GARCILASSO  embraced  in  his  narrative  a 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  49 

space  of  some  five  hundred  years,  but  his  chronological  no 
tices  want  a  firm  foundation. 

The  series  of  the  annals  of  the  IXCAS  presents  so  much 
confusion  and  incertitude,  the  historical  references  are  so  de 
fective,  the  traditions  so  contradictory,  that  to  avoid  losing 
ourselves  in  useless  digressions,  or  in  sterile  and  tedious  in 
vestigations,  we  will  present  to  our  readers  the  following 
catalogue  of  the  Peruvian  Monarchs,  the  authenticity  of 
which  we  cannot  vouch  for,  although  it  seems  to  us 
the  least  defective  that  we  can  present  under  the  circum 
stances. 

I.  Manco-Capac  began  to  reign  in  the  year  1021,  and  died 
in  1062,  after  reigning  40  years. 

II.  SmcJii-Rocca  reigned  30  years,  from  1062  to  1091. 

III.  Lloqque-Yupanqui   reigned  35  years,   from   1091    tt> 
1126. 

IV.  Mayta-Capac  began  to  reign  in  1126,  reigned  30  years, 
and  died  in  1156. 

Y.  Capac-  Yupanqui  inherited  the  power  in  the  year  1156, 
reigned  41  years,  and  died  in  1197. 

VI.  Inca-Rocca  began  to  reign  in  1197,  and  died  in  1249, 
after  having  reigned  51  years, 

VII.  Yahuar-Huaccac  had  a  reign  of  40  years,  from  1249 
to  1296  ;  seven  of  these  he  passed  in  private  life,  after  hav 
ing  renounced  in  1289,  in  favor  of  his  son  Viracocha. 

VIII.  Viracocha  occupied  the  throne  from  the  year  1289r 
and  died  in  1340.     This  INCA  predicted  the  ruin  of  the  em 
pire,  and  the  arrival  of  white  and  bearded  men.     His  son, 
Inca-  UrcOj  reigned  only  eleven  days,  being  deposed  by  the 
nobles  of  the  empire,  as  a  fool,  and  incapable  of  governing. 

IX.  Titu- Manco- Capac- Pachacutec  came  to  the  crown  in  the 
year  1340,  reigned  60  years,  and  died  in  1400,  after  having 
lived,  according  to  tradition,  103  years. 

3 


50  PERU. 

X.  Yupanqui  inherited  the  regal  power  in  the  year  1400, 
reigned  39  years,  and  died  in  1439. 

XL  Tupac-  Yupanqui  reigned  from  the  year  1439,  and  died 
in  1475,  after  36  years'  reign. 

XII.  Huayna- Capac  succeeded    Tupac-  Yupanqui,    in   the 
year  1475,  reigned  50  years,  and  died  in  1525.    This  chief  was 
considered  the  most  glorious  of  all  the  Peruvian  monarchs.* 

XIII.  Huascar  received  the  crown  in  1526,  reigned  seven 
years,  and  died  in  1532. 

XIY.  Atahuallpa,  or  Atavaliva,  began  to  reign  in  the  year 
1532,  governed  the  whole  empire  for  one  year  and  four 
months,  after  having  reigned  six  years,  in  Quito  only,  and 
died  on  the*  scaffold,  by  order  of  Pizarro,  in  the  public 
square  of  Cajamarca,  the  29th  of  August,  in  the  year  1533. 

After  the  conquest  of  the  Spaniards,  the  brother  of  both 
the  preceding  monarchs  was  crowned  as  Manco-Capac  II.; 
who  reigned  with  a  light  shadow  of  royal  dignity  until  the 
year  1553.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  three  sons,  Sayri-Tupac, 
Cusititu- Yupanqui  and  Tupac- Amaru.  This  last  was  be 
headed  in  Cuzco,  in  the  year  1571,  by  order  of  DON  FRAN 
CISCO  DE  TOLEDO,  fifth  Viceroy  of  PERU. 


*  According  to  the  Canon,  Dr.  D.  JUSTO  SAHUARAURA  of  Cuzco,  who 
pretends  to  spring  from  the  INCA  HUAYNA-CAPAC  ;  by  a  succession  of  blood, 
the  descendants  of  MANCO-CAPAC  form  the  AYLLO  Raurahua  ;  those  of 
SmcHi-RoccA,  the  AYLLO  Chima-Panaca;  those  of  LLOQQUE-YUPANQUI,  the 
AYLLO  Huahuanina;  those  of  MAYTA-CAPAC,  the  AYLLO  Vsca-Mayla;  those 
of  CAP  AC- YUPANQUI,  the  AYLLO  Apumayta-Panaca-  Urin-  Cosco  ;  those  of 
iNCA-RoccA,  the  AYLLO  Huicca-  Qquirau-Panaca-Hanan-  Cosco  •  those  of 
YAHUAR-HUACCAC,  the  AYLLO  ffuaccaylli-Panaca  ;  those  of  HUIRACCOCHA- 
INCA,  the  AYLLO  Sucso-Panaca  ;  those  of  the  INCA-PACHACUTEC,  the  AYLLO 
Caeca-  Cosco,  Anahuarques  ;  those  of  the  INCA  YUPANQUI,  the  AYLLO  Inca- 
Panaca  ;  those  of  TUPAC-YUPANQUI,  the  AYLLO  Capac~Panaca  /  those  of 
HUAYNA-CAPAC,  the  AYLLO  Tumipampa, 


• 

PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  51 

Passing  by  Father  ACOSTA,  and  other  authors  who  began 
the  line  of  Peruvian  monarchs,  with  INCA-ROCCA,  we  will  pro 
ceed  to  examine  the  memorials  of  the  ancient  history  of  Peru, 
by  the  licentiate,  FERNANDO-MONTESINOS,  which  is  the  second 
work  worthy  of  fixing  our  attention.  The  author,  a  native 
of  OSONA,  in  SPAIN,  visited  Peru  a  century  after  the  conquest, 
at  two  different  times,  and  travelled  fifteen  years  through  the 
viceroy alty,  devoting  himself  with  great  eagerness  to  the 
ancient  history  of  the  empire  of  the  INCAS,  collecting  all  the 
traditions  and  songs  of  the  natives,  gathering  knowledge  from 
the  most  learned  Indians  relative  to  past  events,  profiting 
by  the  unpublished  manuscripts,  compiled  under  the  direction 
of  F.  LUIS-LOPEZ,  bishop  of  QUITO,  (consecrated  in  1588), 
and  studying  antiquities  with  so  much  zeal,  that  none 
equalled  him  in  archaeological  knowledge.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  he  completed  his 
manuscript  upon  the  ancient  history  of  PERU,  which  was  depos 
ited  in  the  library  of  the  convent  of  SAN  JOSE  DE  SEVILLA. 
Some  200  years  afterward  (in  1846)  these  memorials  came 
to  light,  but  in  French,  and  only  in  an  extract  which  was 
published  in  PARIS,  by  M.  TERNAUX-COMPANS,  a  distin 
guished  editor  of  voyages,  narratives  or  relations,  and  original 
memorials,  to  serve  for  a  history  of  the  discovery  of  AMERI 
CA.  Simultaneously  with  the  memorials  MONTESINOS  com 
posed  another  work,  entitled  Peruvian  Annals,  a  work 
which,  until  now,  has  never  been  published.  The  memo 
rials  of  this  author  treat  of  the  ancient  history  of  PERU,  in  a 
mode  so  original  and  distinct  from  all  others,  that  we  can 
easily  perceive  it  to  be  a  production  alike  novel  and  unknown. 
He  began  with  his  favorite  hypothesis,  and  devoted  to  it  the 
first  part  of  his  book,  i.  e.,  that  PERU  was  the  country  of 
OPHIR,  of  the  time  of  SOLOMON,  and  that  AMERICA  was  peo 
pled  by  repeated  emigrations  coming  from  ARMENIA.  Five 


62  PERU. 

hundred  years  after  the  deluge  began  the  catalogue  of  the 
monarchs,  whose  names  are  quoted  by  MONTESINOS,  who 
gives,  also,  the  ages  at  which  they  respectively  died,  and  the 
most  memorable  events ,  of  their  reigns.  The  catalogue 
which  he  presents  ascends  to  a  hundred  and  one  monarchs 
previous  to  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Spaniards. 

The  work  of  MONTESINOS  being  but  very  slightly  known,  we 
do  not  judge  it  superfluous  to  give  here  a  brief  extract  from  it, 
in  the  exposition  of  a  chronological  table  of  the  kings,  ac 
cording  to  our  author. 

I.  Pishua-Manca  reigned  sixty  years,  and  died  at  more 
than  one  hundred  years  of  age. 

PERU,  says  MONTESINOS,  was  populated  five  hundred  years 
after  the  deluge.  Its  first  inhabitants  flowed  in  abundantly 
towards  the  valley  of  Cuzco,  conducted  by  four  brothers, 
named  Ayar-Manco-Topa,  Ayar-Cachi-Topa^  Ayar-Auca-Topa, 
and  Ayar-  Uchu-  Topa,  who  were  accompanied  by  their  sisters 
and  wives,  named  Mama- Cora,  Hipa-Huacum,  Hama-Huacum, 
and  Pilca-Huacum.  The  eldest  of  the  brothers  mounted  to 
the  summit  of  a  ridge,  and  threw  with  his  sling  a  stone  to 
each  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  thus  taking  pos 
session  of  the  soil  for  himself  and  his  family.  He  afterward 
gave  a  name  to  each  one  of  the  quarters  which  he  had  reach 
ed  with  his  sling,  calling  that  beyond  the  SOUTH  Cotta,  beyond 
the  NORTH  Tahua,  beyond  the  EAST  Antisuyu,  beyond  the 
WEST  Contisuyu,  and  for  that  reason  the  Indians  called  their 
kings  Tahuantin-Suyu-  Capac,  i.  e.  LORDS  of  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe.  The  younger  of  the  brothers,  who,  according 
to  tradition,  was  at  the  same  time  the  most  skilful  and  hardy, 
wishing  to  enjoy  alone  the  plenitude  of  power,  rid  himself  of 
two  of  his  brothers,  by  enclosing  one  of  them  in  a  cave,  and 
throwing  the  other  into  a  deep  hole  and  thus  caused  the 
third  to  fly  to  a  distant  province.  The  fratricide  consoled 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  53 

his  sisters,  and  told  them  that  they  must  consider  him  as  the 
only  child  or  son  of  the  SUN,  and  obey  him  as  such.  He 
commanded  his  kinsmen  to  level  the  ground  and  make  houses 
of  stone;  such  was  the  origin  of  the  city  of  Cuzco.*  The 
neighboring  nations  followed  the  example  of  the  vassals  or 
subjects  of  AYAR-UcHU-TopA,  and  founded  populations  in 
the  vicinity  of  this  city.  For  sixty  years  did  this  first  king 
govern,  (whom  Indian  traditions  also  called  Puhua-Manco), 
leaving  the  throne  to  his  eldest  son,  the  fruit  of  his  union 
with  his  sister,  MAMA-CORA. 

II.  Manco-Capac  I. 

The  princes  of  the  adjacent  nations  dreading  the  power  of 
MANCO-CAPAC,  solicited  his  alliance,  and  to  accomplish  this 
object  they  proposed  to  him  to  take  for  a  wife  the  daughter 
of  the  chief  among  them.  The  monarch  consented,  but 
while  they  were  making  preparations  for  the  wedding  feasts, 
they  received. the  news  that  a  numerous  multitude  were  ap 
proaching  Cuzco,  from  the  side  of  Arica  and  the  COLLAS, 
[or  South.]  MANCO-CAPAC  marched  without  delay  to  repel 
the  foreign  invasion,  notwithstanding  they  sent  him  deputies 
assuring  him  that  they  had  no  evil  intentions,  and  only 
begged  for  land  to  cultivate,  and  pasture  for  their  cattle. 
The  Peruvian  monarch  assigned  them  the  provinces  of  the 
NORTH  ;  many  went  to  POMACOCHA,  QUINOA,  HUAYTARA, 
and  CHACHAPOYAS  ;  some  embarked  on  the  APURIMAC  and 
MARANON.  Traditions  call  this  foreign  horde  ATUMURU- 

NAS. 

III.  Huainaew-Pishua  reigned  50  years,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  90. 

Having  obtained  possession  of  a  son  of  his,  together  with 

*  Montesinos  supposes  that  the  name  of  Cuzco  is  derived  from  Cosca, 
an  Indian  word,  which  signifies  to  level ;  or,  from  those  heaps  of  earth, 
called  coscos,  which  were  found  ill  the  environs^ 


54  PERU. 

his  nurse,  the  neighboring  nations  wished  to  put  him  to 
death  ;  the  child  wept  two  drops  of  blood,  and  the  enemies, 
alarmed,  restored  him  to  his  father,  and  established  peace. 
HUAYNACAVI  afterward  married  Mama-Micay,  the  daughter 
of  Huillaco,  lord  of  a  village  in  the  country  of  •LuCAY. 
During  his  reign  was  known  the  use  of  letters,  and  the 
amautas  taught  astrology  and  the  art  of  writing  on  leaves  of 
the  plantain  tree.* 

IY.  Sinchi-  Cozque  reigned  60  years,  and  lived  more  than  a 
hundred. 

This  sovereign,  also  called  Pachacuti,  because  he  reigned 
a  thousand  years  after  the  deluge,  was  as  wise  as  he  was 
valiant ;  he  conquered  his  enemies  in  a  bloody  battle  near 
the  village  of  MicJiina,  fortified  and  adorned  the  city  of  Cuz- 
co,  and  invented  the  species  of  carriage  or  vehicle  called 
Llam  adores. 

V.  Inti-  Capac-  Yupanqui  lived  more  than  a  hundred  years, 
and  reigned  more  than  sixty. 

He  was  the  younger  son  of  SiNCHi-CozQUE,  and  when 
young  conquered,  in  a  hard-fought  battle,  Huaman-Huaroca 
and  Huacos-Huaroca,  both  brothers  and  valiant  chiefs,  of  the 
nation  of  the  ANTIHUAYLAS,  who  had  taken  possession  of  the 
provinces  of  CONTISUYU,  TUCAYSUYU,  COLLASUYU,  and  of 
the  CHIRIHUANAS,  and  threatened  the  city  of  Cuzco.f 

This  monarch  was  no  less  wise  in  peace  than  powerful  in 
war.  He  was  also  very  zealous  for  religion  and  the  worship 
of  the  supreme  gods,  lllatici-Huiracoclia  and  the  Sun.  He 
also  divided  Cuzco  into  two  parts :  Hanan-  Cuzco  and  Hurin- 
Cuzco,  and  the  nation  into  hundreds  or  pachacas ;  each  centu- 

*  The  amautas  are  explained  hereafter.--[TRANSLATOR.] 
t  MONTESINOS  says  that  all  that  which  G-ARCILASSO  relates  of  this  victory 
is  false.     According  to  GARCILASSO,  CAPAC-YUPANQUI  reigned  from  1156 
to  1197;  according  to  Montesinos,  1100  years  after  the  deluge. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES,  55 

rion  commanded  a  hundred  men,  each  huaranco  a  hundred 
centurions,  one  hunu  to  a  hundred  huarancos,  and  all  were 
made  subject  to  the  tocricoc,  who  depended  solely  upon  the 
king.  Each  province  was  obliged  to  distinguish  itself  by 
certain  personal  signals  in  each  one  of  its  component  mem 
bers,  and  the  infants  were  obliged  to  perforate  the  ears  and 
wear  rings  of  gold  or  silver. 

To  this  same  sovereign  did  his  subjects  owe  their  Chas- 
quis  or  couriers  for  posting  to  the  most  distant  provinces,  as 
also  the  institution  of  the  solar  year  into  365  days,  and  the 
division  of  the  years  into  circles  of  tens,  hundreds  and  thou 
sands,  from  which  came  at  last  the  name  Intip-Huatan  or 
Capac-Hesata  (great  solar  year). 

VI.  Manco-Capac  II. 

He  commanded  to  be  opened  or  made  great  roads  of  com 
munication  from  Cuzco  to  the  provinces,  bridges  over  the 
largest  rivers,  and  tambos  or  stopping-places  at  every  four 
leagues  for  travellers.  At  the  same  time  he  commanded 
the  priests  of  iLLiATici-HuiRACOCHA  to  live  in  cloisters  and 
in  a  state  of  chastity,  and  caused  edifices  to  be  constructed 
for  the  priestesses  of  the  SUN. 

During  his  reign  appeared  two  comets,  and  there  were  two 
eclipses  of  the  sun  which  frightened  the  population  of  PERU. 
Unfortunately  their  fears  were  not  all  idle,  for  a  frightful 
plague  occurred  which  desolated  the  provinces,  and  almost 
depopulated  the  capital  of  Cuzco. 

VII.  Topa-Capacl. 

He  retired  to  the  Andes  to  escape  the  plague,  lived  for 
some  time  among  the  mountains,  and  returned  afterward  to 
Cuzco,  where  there  was  great  disorder. 

VIII.  Titu-Capac-Yupanqui. 

After  having  appeased  a  revolution  he  relinquished  the 
throne,  being  already  advanced  in  years,  to  his  son. 


56  PERU. 

IX.  Titu-  Capojc-Amauri,  who  lived  80  years. 

He  conquered  the  provinces  of  COLLAS  and  CHARCAS. 

X.  Capac-Say-Huacapar  reigned  60  years,  and  lived  90. 

XI.  Capesinia-  Yupangui  reigned  more  than  40  years,  and 
lived  90;    was   a    religious  prince,  and  constructed  many 
Huacas,  [sacred  places.] 

XII.  Ayatarco-  Cupo  reigned  25  years. 

Giants  having  entered  PERU,  they  populated  Huaytara, 
Quinoa,  Punta  de  Santa  Helena,  and  Puerto viejo,  and  built  a 
sumptuous  temple  in  PACHACAMAC,  using  instruments  of 
iron.  As  they  were  given  up  to  sodomy,  divine  wrath  anni 
hilated  them  with  a  rain  of  fire,  although  a  part  of  them 
were  enabled  to  escape  by  going  to  Cuzco.  AYATARCO-CUPO 
went  out  to  meet  them,  and  dispersed  them  about  LIMATAMBO. 

XIII.  Huascar-Titu  reigned  30  years,  and  lived  64,  dy 
ing  at  a  time  when  it  was  proposed  to  make  war  with  the 
CHIMUS. 

XIV.  Quispi-Tutu  reigned  three  years,  and  lived  60. 

XV.  Titu-  Yupanqui,  or  PACHACUTI  II.,  died  at  a  very  ad 
vanced  age.     He  suppressed  a  military  revolution,  and  re 
duced  the  feasts  and  revels  of  the  Indians. 

XVI.  Titu-  Capac  reigned  25  years. 

XVII.  Paullu-Icar-Pirhua  reigned  30l  years. 

XVIII.  Lloqueti-Sacamauta,   a  very  wise  prince,  reigned 
50  years. 

XIX.  Cayo-Manco-Amauta  died  at  90  years  of  age. 

XX.  Huascar-Titupac  II.  reigned  33  years,  and  died  at  75 
years  of  age. 

He  gave  to  all  the  provinces  new  governors  of  royal  blood. 
He  introduced  in  the  army  a  species  of  cuirass  composed  of 
cotton  and  copper,  and  a  shield  of  leaves  of  the  plantain-tree 
and  cotton,  as  a  distinction  and  a  protection  for  the  bravest 
soldiers,  to  whom  he  gave  other  arms  and  dresses,  and  grant- 


PERUVIAN"  ANTIQUITIES.  57 

ed  them  numerous  privileges.     He  finally  established  a  coun 
cil  of  twenty  old  men  of  royal  blood. 

XXI.  Manco-Capac-Amauta  IY. 

This  chief  was  addicted  to  astronomy,  and  convened  a 
scientific  meeting,  in  which  they  agreed  that  the  sun  was 
found  to  be  at  a  greater  distance  than  the  moon,  and  that 
both  followed  different  courses.  At  the  same  time  he  fixed 
the  beginning  of  the  year  at  the  summer  equinox. 

XXII.  Ticatua  reigned  30  years. 

XXIII.  Paullu-Toto-Capac  reigned  19  years. 
XXIY.   Cao-Manco  reigned  30  years. 

XXY.  Marasco-Pachacuti  reigned  40  years,  and  lived  double 
that  space  of  time.  This  prince  conquered  the  barbarians  re 
cently  come  to  Peru,  in  a  bloody  combat,  and  strengthened 
the  garrisons  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  RIMAC  and  the  HUA- 
JJUGO.  Zealous  in  religion,  he  opposed  the  progress  of  idolatry, 
and  published  several  decrees  favorable  to  the  worship  of  his 
predecessors. 

XXYI.  Paullu-Atauchi-Oapac  died  at  70  years  of  age. 

XXYII.  Lluqui-  Yupanqui  reigned  10  years,  and  died  at 
30  years  of  age. 

XXYIII.  Lluqui- Ticac  died  at  the  same  age,  after  having 
reigned  8  years. 

XXIX.  Capac-  Yupanqui  reigned  50  years,  and  died  at  80 
years  of  age.     He  was  a  celebrated  jurisconsult. 

XXX.  Topa- Yupanqui  reigned  30  years,  and  died  at  a 
very  advanced  age. 

XXXI.  Mdnco-AvitO'Packacutij  or  PacJiacuti  IY.,  reigned 
50  years. 

He  was  a  very  warlike  prince,  and  commanded  them  to 
begin  the -year  with  the  winter  equinox. 

XXXII.  Sinchi-Apusqui  reigned  40  years,  and  died  at  80 
years  of  age,  2070  after  the  deluge.     He  ordered  them  to 


58  PERU. 

call  the  Pirhua  gods  lllatici-Huiracocha,  and  for  this  reason 
did  the  Indians  give  this  king  the  name  of  Huarma-Huim- 
cocha. 

XXXIII.  Auqui-  Quitua-  Chauchi  reigned  four  years. 

XXXIY.  Ayay-Manco  died  at  60  years  of  age. 

This  monarch  gathered  together  in  Cuzco  the  Amautas  to 
reform  the  calendar,  who  decided  among  themselves,  that  the 
year  should  be  divided  into  months  of  30  days,  and  weeks  of 
ten  days,  calling  the  five  days  at  the  end  of  the  year  a  small 
week.  They  also  collected  the  years  into  decades  or  groups 
of  tens,  and  into  groups  of  ten  decades,  or  one  hundred  years, 
which  form  one  sun  or  century.  The  half  of  a  sun,  or  space 
of  50  years,  was  called  PACHACUTI. 

XXXV.  Huiracocha-  Capac  II.  reigned  15  years. 

XXXVI.  Chinchi-Rocca-Amauta  reigned  20  years. 

He  was  a  monarch  very  much  devoted  to  astrology.          » 

XXXVII.  Amour  o-Amauta. 

He  was  so  melancholy  a  prince,  that  none  ever  saw  him 
laugh. 

XXXVIII.  Capac-Raymi-Amauta. 

Celebrated  for  his  astronomical  knowledge,  he  knew  which 
was  the  longest,  and  which  the  shortest  day  of  the  year, 
and  when  the  sun  reached  the  tropics.  His  vassals,  in  honor 
of  their  king,  gave  to  the  month  of  December  the  name  of 
Capac-Raymi. 

XXXIX.  llla-Topa  reigned  three  years,  and  died  at  30  years 
of  age. 

XL.  Topac-Amauri  died  at  the  same  age. 
XLI.  Huana-  Cauri  II.  reigned  four  years. 
XLII.  Toca-  Corca-Apu-  Capac  reigned  45  years,  and  estab 
lished  a  University  in  Cuzco. 

XLIII.  Huancar-Sacri-Topa  reigned  32  years. 

XLIV.  Hina-Chiulla-Amauta-Pachacuti  reigned  35  years. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  59 

The  5th  year  of  his  government  corresponds  with  the  year 
2500  after  the  deluge. 

XLY.  Capac-  Yupanqui-Amauta  reigned  35  years. 

XLYI.  Huapar-Sacritopa. 

XL VII.   Caco-Manco-Auqui  reigned  13  years. 

XL VIII.  Hina-Huella  reigned  30  years. 

XLIX.  Inti- Capac- Amauta  reigned  30  years. 

L.  Ayar-Manco- Capac  II. 

LI.   Yahuar- Huquiz  reigned  30  years. 

He  was  a  celebrated  astronomer,  ancj  intercalated  a  year  at 
the  end  of  four  centuries. 

LII.  Capac-Titu-  Yupanqui  reigned  23  years,  and  died  when 
more  than  a  hundred  years  of  age,  of  one  of  those  malignant 
diseases  [literally  small-pox]  which  desolated  the  country. 

LIIL  Topa-Curi-Amauta  II.  reigned  39  years,  and  died 
when  more  than  80  years  of  age. 

LIV.  Topa-  Curi  III.  reigned  40  years. 

LV.  Huillca-Nota-Amauta  reigned  60  years,  and  died  at 
more  than  90  years  of  age. 

This  prince  gained  a  memorable  victory  in  HuiLLCA-NoTA, 
over  several  foreign  hordes  from  TUCUMAN,  who  had  inva 
ded  the  country. 

LVI.  Topa- Yupanqui  reigned  43  years,  and  died  at  90 
years  of  age. 

LVII.  lilac- Topa- Capac  reigned  four  years, 

LVIII.  Titu-Raymi-Cozque  reigned  31  years. 

LIX.  Huqui-Ninaqui  reigned  43  years. 

LX.  Manco-  Capac  III.  reigned  23  years. 

According  to  the  Amautas,  this  prince  reigned  in  the  year 
2950  after  the  deluge,  and  consequently  at  the  time  of  tL<j 
birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  an  epoch  when  PERU  had  reached  her 
highest  elevation  and  extension. 

LXI.  Cayo-Manco-  Capac  II.  reigned  20  years. 


60  PERU. 

LXII.  Sinclii-Ayar-Manco  reigned  7  years. 

LXIII.  Huamantaco-Amauta  reigned  5  years.  During  Ms 
reign  they  experienced  earthquakes  that  lasted  several 
months. 

LXIY.  Titu-Yupanqm-PachacutiV. 

In  his  reign  was  completed  the  third  millenary  cycle  since 
the  deluge. 

There  were  several  irruptions  of  foreign  hordes,  corning 
from  Brazil  and  the  Andes,  which  desolated  the  country.  The 
INCA  fortified  himself  in  the  mountains  of  PUCARA,  and 
fought  a  bloody  battle  with  the  invading  enemies,  in  which, 
after  a  frightful  carnage,  the  Peruvian  monarch  fell  by  an 
arrow  ;  and  the  air,  corrupted  by  the  miasma  of  the  putrified 
corpses  which  remained  unburied  on  the  field  of  battle,  gene 
rated  a  frightful  plague,  which  almost  depopulated  PERU. 

LXY.  Tito. 

Many  ambitious  ones,  taking  advantage  of  the  youth  of 
the  new  king,  denied  him  obedience,  drew  away  from  him 
the  masses,  and  usurped  several  provinces.  Those  who 
remained  faithful  to  the  heir  of  TITU-YUPANQUI,  conducted 
him  to  Tambotoco,  whose  inhabitants  offered  him  obedience. 
From  this  it  happened  that  this  monarch  took  the  title  of 
king  of  Tambotoco ;  since,  like  the  Koman  Empire  in  the 
time  of  Galienus,  Peru  counted  many  simultaneous,tyrants. 
All  was  found  in  great  confusion,  life  and  personal  safety 
were  endangered,  and  civil  disturbances  caused  the  entire 
loss  of  the  use  of  letters. 

LXYI.   Cozque-Huaman-Titu  reigned  20  years. 

LXYII.   Cayo-Manco  III.  reigned  50  years. 

LXYIII.  Huica-Titu  reigned  30  years. 

LXIX.  Sivi-Topa  reigned  40  years. 

LXX.  Topa-  Yupanqui  reigned  25  years. 

LXXI.  Huayna-Topa  reigned  37  years. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  61 

This  monarch  wished  to  rebuild  the  city  of  Cuzco,  but  by 
the  advice  of  the  priests,  he  abandoned  the  undertaking. 

LXXII.  Huancauri  reigned  10  years. 

LXXIII.  Huillca-Huaman  reigned  60  years. 

LXXIV.  Huaman-Capac. 

LXXV.  Auqui-Atahuilque  reigned  35  years. 

LXXYI.  Hanco-Titu-Capra  reigned  27  years. 

LXXVIL  Huayna-Topa  reigned  50  years. 

LXXVIII.   Topa-Cauri-Pachacuti  VI. 

The  ninth  year  of  his  reign  corresponds  with  the  year 
3500  after  the  deluge. 

This  prince  began  by  conquering  some  provinces,  but  did 
not  continue  the  enterprise,  finding  the  inhabitants  very 
vicious.  He  prohibited  them,  under  the  severest  penalties, 
from  making  use  of  the  qudlca,  (a  species  of  parchment  of 
plantain  leaves,)  to  write  upon,  and  also  prohibited  the  inven 
tion  of  letters ;  but  introduced  the  use  of  the  quippos,  and 
founded,  in  PACARITAMBO,  a  military  school  for  knights. 

LXXIX.  Ara?itial-Cassi  lived  70  years. 

This  prince  commanded  that  in  the  tomb  of  his  father 
should  be  interred  his  legitimate  wife  and  favorite  concu 
bines.  He  also  ordered  the  corpse  of  his  father  to  be  em 
balmed,  when  freed  from  the  intestines,  which  by  order  of 
the  monarch  were  preserved  in  golden  vases. 

LXXX.  Hiiari-Titu-Capac  lived  80  years. 

LXXXI.  Huapa-Titu-Auqui  died  at  70  years  of  age. 

LXXXII.  Tocosque  lived  80  years. 

During  the  reign  of  this  prince  the  country  was  invaded  by 
savage  hordes,  coming  some  from  Panama,  some  from  the 
Andes,  and  some  from  the  Port  of  Good  Hope.  These  na 
tions  were  cannibals,  sodomites,  lived  like  brutes,  and  were 
found  wallowing  in  the  greatest  state  of  degradation. 

LXXXIII.  Ayar-Manco  reigned  22  years. 


62  PERU. 

LXXXIY.   Condorocca. 

LXXXY.  Ayar-Manco  II.  died  at  24  years  of  age. 

LXXXYI.  Amaru. 

LXXXVII.  Chinchirocca  reigned  41  years,  and  lived  70. 
At  this  period  they  began  to  make  golden  idols.  •  ;•  ; 

LXXXYIII.  Illa-Rocca  reigned  75  years. 

LXXXIX.  Rocca-Titu  reigned  25  years. 

XC.  Inti-  Capac- Maita- Pachacuti  VII. 

During  the  reign  of  this  prince  was  completed  the  fourth 
millenary  cycle  since  the  deluge.  Customs  were  so  corrupted, 
vices  so  abominable,  the  links  of  society  so  decayed,  so  little 
were  the  law  and  the  royal  power  respected,  that  the  country 
bid  fair  to  be  destroyed  little  by  little.  In  this  condition  a 
princess  of  royal  blood,  named  Mama-Ciboca,  contrived,  by 
artifice  and  intrigue,  to  raise  to  the  throne  her  son,  called 
Ifocca,  a  youth  of  20  years,  and  so  handsome  and  valiant 
that  his  admirers  called  him  Inca,  which  means  lord,  as  the 
Arabs  gave  the  title  of  Cid,"  which  signifies  the  same  in  their 
language,  to  the  bold  and  handsome  Rodrigo  de  Yivar.  This 
title  of  Inca  was  finally  adopted  by  the  successors  to  the 
throne  of  Peru. 

XCI.  Inca-Rocca  reigned  40  years,  and  died  at  60  years  of 
age. 

Young  Rocca  came  from  the  ridge  of  Chingana,  near  Cuzco, 
and  presented  himself  to  the  Indians  as  a  true  son  of  the 
sun,  endeavoring  to  persuade  them  of  his  heavenly  origin, 
in  which  enterprise  his  astute  mother,  Mama-CHoca,  was  of 
great  use  to  him.  The  young  prirtee  endeavored  to  reform 
the  manners,  ordered  sodomy  to  be  punished  with  fire,  and 
in  order  to  give  his  vassals  an  example  of  conjugal  virtues, 
he  contracted  nuptials  with  his  sister,  Mama- Cora,  an  exam 
ple  which  his  people  so  rapidly  followed,  that  on  the  day 
after  his  marriage,  more  than  6000  persons  were  married. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  63 

He  then  declared  war  with  the  neighboring  princes,  who 
refused  him  obedience,  and  would  not  acknowledge  him  a 
child  of  the  sun  ;  conquered  the  King  of  Huancarama,  of 
Andahuylas,  subjugated  the  King  of  the  Huillcas,  and 
returned  triumphant  to  Cuzco.  He  commanded  them  to 
consider  the  sun  as  the  principal  God,  and  promulgated  many 
laws  relative  to  religion  and  the  military  state. 

XCIL  Inca-Hualloque-  Yupanqui. 

He  married  his  sister,  Mama-Chahua. 

From  his  brother  MANCO-CAPAC,  comes  the  family  of  the 
Eaucas-Panmas. 

XCIII.  Lica-May-Tcucapaca. 

He  contracted  a  marriage  with  his  sister,  Mama-Tanca- 
Riaclm.  His  younger  brother,  Aputaca,  was  a  branch  of  the 
family  of  the  Illochibainin,  and  his  second  son,  Putano-  Uman, 
of  the  family  of  the  Uscamaytas. 

XCIY.  Inca-  Capac-  Yupanqui. 

He  married  his  sister,  Mama-Corilpa-Ychaca,  and  had  four 
sons — Sinclii-Rocca-Inca,  Apoc-  Colla-  Unapiri,  Apu-Chancay, 
and  Chima-Chavin,  from  whom  descended  the  Apu-Mayta.s 
of  Cuzco. 

His  brother,  Putano-Uman,  formed  a  conspiracy  against 
him,  but  the  Inca,  forewarned  of  'it,  caused  the  traitor  to  be 
interred  alive,  and  threw  the  other  conspirators  into  a  ditch 
filled  with  serpents,  tigers,  and  lions. 

XCY.  Inca-Sinclii-Rocca  lived  90  years. 

He  took  for  a  wife  his  sister,  Hama-Micay.  He  conquered, 
in  a  bloody  battle,  one  league  from  Andahuylas,  the  king  of 
the  Canchas,  and  made  a  triumphal  entry  into  Cuzco,  with  a 
splendor  never  before  seen. 

He  had  four  sons — Mayta-Yupanqui,  Mayta-Capac,  Hua- 
man-Tacsij  and  Huiraquira,  a  branch  of  the  Huiraquiras. 

XCYI.  Inca-Yahuar-Huaccac  or  Mayta-Tupanqid. 


64  PERU. 

The  fruits  of  his  marriage  with  his  sister,  Mama-Cochaqui- 
elctj  were  six  sons — Huiracocha,  Paucarmlij  Pahuac-Huallpa- 
mayta,  Marcayutu,  Yupa-Paucar,  and  Cincar-Rocca,  from 
whom  descended  the  Aucay-Lipaunacas,  and  who  was  a  con 
queror  of  the  Chancas. 

This  Inca  suffered  all  his  life  from  an  affection  of  the  eyes, 
which  were  always  inflamed,  and  for  this  reason,  his  subjects 
said  he  wept  blood,  and  called  him  Yahuar-Huaccac. 

XCYII.  Inca-Topa-Yupanqui,  called  Huimcoc'ha,  on  ac 
count  of  his  extraordinary  actions ;  he  lived  75  years,  and 
reigned  45.  * 

He  married  his  sister,  Mama-Runtucay,  and  made  a  cam 
paign  to.  Chili,  where  he  installed,  as  governors,  two  of  his 
nephews,  and  caused  to  be  constructed  a  royal  road  from 
Chirihuanas,  to  the  pass,  crossing  the  whole  country  of  Chili. 
He  then  passed  to  the  north,  conquered  the  Canar  Indians, 
those  of  Quito,  the  Atarunos,  Sichos  and  Lampatos,  and 
still  beyond  these,  the  Chonos,  inhabitants  of  the  province 
of  Guayaquil,  and  the  Princes  of  the  Isle  of  Puna,  also  the 
Chimus,  on  his  return  to  Cuzco.  He  repaired  the  temple  of 
Pachacamac,  and  during  his  reign  were  experienced  great 
earthquakes  and  two  irruptions  of  the  volcanoes  of  Quito, 
one  in  front  of  Paucallo,  and  another  in  front  of  the  moun 
tains  of  Oyumbicho. 

XCYIII.  Inca-Topa-Yupanqui  II.  reigned  20  years,  and 
died  at  50  years  of  age. 

He  married  his  sister,  Caya-Mama-Ocho,  and  reduced  to 
obedience  the  Chimus,  who  had  rebelled  anew,  forbidding 
the  use  of  necessary  water  for  the  irrigation  of  their  fields. 

XCIX.  Inca-Inticusi-Huallpa,  called  also  Huaynacapac,  on 
account  of  his  beauty  and  prudence. 

After  having  contracted  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  his 
sister,  Coya-Rahua-Ozollo^  he  marched  to  the  province  of 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  65 

Chachapoyas,  sent  troops  by  the  river  Moyobamba,  and  almost 
entirely  annihilated  the  nation  of  the  Palcas.  He  soon  after 
ward  reduced  to  obedience  the  Indians  of  the  river  Quispe, 
commanded  by  a  woman  called  Quilago.  Finally,  after  a 
troublesome  battle,  he  completely  routed  the  Prince  of  Coy  am  - 
ba,  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of  Yahuarcocha. 

C.  Inca-lnticusi-Hua  llpa-Huascar. 

Montesinos  assures  us  that  the  name  of  Huascar  was  given 
to  this  Inca  by  his  foster  mother,  and  declares  to  be  apocry 
phal  the  story  of  Garcilasso  and  other  historians,  touching 
the  chain  of  gold  which  was  made  in  honor  of  his  birth. 

CI.  Inca- Huay par- Titu-  Yupanqui-Atahuallpa. 

Montesinos  deduces  the  surname  of  this  prince  from  the 
words :  atahu,  virtue,  strength,  and  allpa,  good,  gentle.  (!) 

From  this  exposition,  we  see  that  the  work  of  Montesinos 
cannot  stand  analysis.  It  will  be  at  once  noticed  that  the 
foundation  on  which  the  author  erects  his  history,  i.  e.  the 
identity  of  Peru  with  the  country  of  Ophir,  and  the  contin 
ued  communication  of  Armenia  with  the  New  World,  is  a 
gratuitous  hypothesis,  and  simply  an  exposition  of  the  his 
torical  investigations  of  the  Spanish  authors  who  occupied 
themselves,  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  with 
the  subject  of  the  discovery  of  America.  But  further,  the 
memorials  of  Montesinos  present  so  manv  contradictions,  so 
many  chronological  errors,  and  such  manifest  incorrectness, 
that  it  is  only  with  the  utmost  precaution  and  much  distrust 
that  such  documents  can  be  made  use  of  at  all.  In  spite  of 
his  erudition,  and  the  large  amount  of  knowledge  which  his 
earnest  search  could  gather  during  his  long  residence  in 
Peru,  his  history  does  not  present  a  character  worthy  of 
credit,  and  the  succession  of  Peruvian  monarchs  seems  very 
arbitrary.  Doubtless,  in  the  later  periods  of  Peruvian  his 
tory,  the  relations  of  Montesinos  present  a  degree  of  authen- 


66  PERU. 

ticity  superior  to  that  of  Grarcilasso  de  la  Vega ;  and  in 
spite  of  his  errors  and  defects,  these  memorials  form  an  im 
portant  element  in  the  historic  literature  of  Peru. 

It  now  remains  for  us  but  to  mention  a  third  work  upon 
Peruvian  antiquity,  and  it  is  the  History  of  the  Conquest  of 
Peru,  by  the  celebrated  American  writer,  W.  H.  Prescott, 
who,  possessing  the  incomparable  advantage  of  having  at  his 
command  more  materials  than  any  other  historian,  and  mak 
ing  use  of  them  with  the  sound  judgment  and  exquisite  ele 
gance  which  characterize  him,  gives  us,  with  unequalled  skill, 
perfect  system,  and  brilliant  coloring,  an  animated  account  of 
the  state  of  Peru  before  the  conquest,  of  the  degree  of  civi 
lization  to  which  the  nation  had  attained  under  the  dynasty 
of  the  Incas,  and  of  the  form  of  government  of  these  mon- 
archs.  We  feel  it  beyond  measure  as  a  great  privation, 
that  many  ancient  manuscripts,  which  throw  a  brilliant  light 
upon  the  obscure  centuries  of  Peruvian  antiquity,  should  be 
known  to  us  only  through  the  quotations  of  Prescott,  and  we 
do  not  doubt,  that  for  archaeologists  and  antiquarians,  the 
relations  of  Sarmiento,  Ondegardo,  Betanzos,  would  possess 
inexpressible  interest,  as  would,  also,  the  anonymous  memo 
rials  upon  the  discovery  and  the  conquest,  and  the  docu 
ments  upon  the  inscriptions,  medals,  antiquities,  &c. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  our  work,  we  have  fully  expressed 
our  opinion  concerning  the  great  Peruvian  reformer,  known 
under  the  traditional  name  of  Manco-Capac.  It  is  not  to  be 
questioned  that  there  existed  in  Peru,  previous  to  his  arrival, 
a  certain  degree  of  culture,  but  the  problem  remains  to  be 
solved  (though  it  may  be  perhaps  forever  impossible),  what 
was  the  origin  of  this  culture?  Was  it  a  successive,  pro 
gressive  manifestation  of  the  mind  of  the  aboriginal  nations, 
or  rather  transplanted  from  another  soil  ?  It  is  certain  that 
this  culture  failed,  and  decayed  rapidly  before  the  new  re- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  67 

forming  era  had  begun.  The  acute  skill,  and  exact  know 
ledge  of  the  soil  in  which  he  was  going  to  construct  his  new 
edifice,  induced  the  reformer  to  take  for  a  foundation  the 
previous  decayed  cultivation  ;  and  it  is  owing  to  this  that  we 
meet,  especially  in  the  religious  worship,  with  heterogeneous 
elements,  unconnected  among  themselves,  although  mixed, 
which  attest  without  doubt  the  attentive  and  profound  ob 
server  ;  which  show  the  wisdom  with  which  he  knew  how  to 
unite  them  so  ingeniously ;  while  the  progress  which  the 
organization  of  the  monarchy  produced,  and  its  free  advance 
ment,  argue  the  simplicity  and  perspicacity  with  which  those 
political  and  religious  laws  were  established. 

The  general  opinion  is  that  the  Incas  descend  directly  from 
Manco-Capac.  All  the  traditions  relate  that  this  person 
was  distinguished  from  the  natives  by  his  physiognomy  and 
the  clear  color  of  his  complexion  ;  and  although  the  majority 
of  historians  attribute  to  all  the  Incas  these  personal  quali 
ties,  nothing  certain  do  we  know  on  this  head ;  yet  do 
we  see  that  some  modern  travellers  pretend  that  the  de 
scendants  of  the  royal  family  were  distinguished  from  the 
other  Indians  by  their  physical  aspect.  Our  minute  and 
recent  investigations  go  to  prove  that  the  Incas  do  not  derive 
their  origin  from  the  legislator  above  named  (be  his  name 
Manco-Capac  or  any  other)  by  a  succession  of  blood,  but 
from  a  native  family  established  in  the  royal  dignity  by  the 
stranger  reformer.  According  to  this  hypothesis,  Inca-Eocca 
was  the  first  Indian  autocrat  and  stock  of  the  Ayllo  of  the 
Peruvian  monarchs.  We  well  know  that  on  this  point  pro 
bably  we  never  shall  reach  undoubted  truth ;  but  this 
opinion  is  the  result  of  such  a  critical  study  of  the  history 
as  does  not  lend  a  blind  faith  to  tradition,  but  endeavors  to 
penetrate  into  the  connection  of  motives  and  historical 
effects. 


68  PERU. 

The  traditions  of  the  Indians  and  the  opinions  of  the  his 
torians  relative  to  the  origin  of  the  Incas  and  their  arrival  at 
Peru,  differ  much  among  themselves ;  some  of  them  there 
are  which,  by  their  simplicity  and  verisimilitude,  cannot  fail 
to  satisfy,  while  there  are  others  which  by  their  silliness,  ar 
bitrary  assertions,  and  historical  improbability,  do  not  deserve 
the  slightest  credit,  and  shock  at  first  sight.  Such  as,  for 
instance,  the  one  which  makes  an  English  sailor  the  legis 
lator  of  Peru.  I  deem  it  best  to  relate  the  origin  of  this 
opinion,  in  order  to  prove  ho\y  much  a  want  of  sense  or 
desire  of  originality  may  lead  one  astray.  An  English  sailor, 
eight  centuries  ago,  was  shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of  Peru, 
(so  runs  the  story.)  A  prince,  who  chanced  to  be  on  the 
banks  of  the  sea,  asked  him  who  he  was,  and  the  sailor 
answered  in  his  own  tongue,  " Englishman"  a  word  which, 
in  his  quicJma  pronunciation,  the  prince  repeated  Ingasman  ; 
and,  the  Englishman  being  very  fine  looking,  the  prince,  in 
speaking  of  him  to  his  companions,  added  Ingasman-  Capac, 
(the  handsome  Englishman ;)  and  thus  the  stranger  retained 
the  name  of  Ingasman- Capac,  which  in  time  grew  into  Inga- 
Manco- Capac.  This  apocryphal  and  ridiculous  story  suffices 
to  show  the  poverty  and  nullity  of  the  historical  account  pre 
tended  to  be  founded  on  it.  According  to  some  authors,  it 
took  place  before  the  restoration  of  the  government  of  the  In 
cas,  and  was  a  work  of  the  English  ;*  since  that  work,  a  certain 
Don  Antonio  Berreo  affirmsf  that  among  other  prophecies 

*  Walter  Raleigh,  in  the  description  of  his  voyage  to  Gruiana,  (fol.  97, 
page  8,  of  the  America  of  Theodore  Bry.)  See  also  the  prologue  to  the 
second  edition  of  the  Commentaries  of  G-arcilasso  de  la  Vega,  written  by 
Don  G-abriel  de  Cardenas,  1723. 

t  Deum  ego  tester,  mini  a  Don  Antonio  de  Berreo  affirmatum,  quem- 
admodum  etiam  ab  aliis  cognovi,  quod  in  prascipuo  ipsorum  templo  inter 
alia  vaticinia,  quse  de  amissione  regni  loquuntur,  hoc  enim  sit,  quod  dici- 
tur  fore  ut  Ingse  sive  Imperatores  et  reges  Peruvise  ab  aliquo  populo, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  69 

preserved  in  the  principal  temple  of  Cuzco,  relative  to  the 
destruction  of  the  empire,  was  one  affirming  that  the  Incas 
would  be  re-established  in  their  empire  by  certain  people 
who  should  come  from  a  country  called  Inclaterra. 

It  is  superfluous  to  add  that  such  a  prophecy  never  existed, 
and  that  all  this  relation  is  a  clumsily  forged  imposture. 

The  most  eminent  period  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Incas  is 
the  reign  of  Huayna-Capac,  who  died  seven  years  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  after  having  governed  half  a  cen 
tury.  The  warlike  and  civil  works  of  so  noted  a  sovereign 
deserve  to  be  recorded  by  an  eloquent  pen,  and  his  biography, 
compiled  with  the  necessary  circumspection,  would  throw 
more  light  upon  the  ancient  Peruvian  history  than  all  the 
memorials,  relations  and  commentaries  which  embrace  so 
many  indigestible  folios,  filled  with  contradictions,  errors 
and  fables.  Under  the  dominion  of  Huayna-Capac,  the  em 
pire  attained  to  its  greatest  height  and  prosperity,  and 
extended  from  the  river  Andasmayo,  at  the  north  of  Quito, 
to  the  river  Maule,  in  Chili,  i.  e.  embracing  a  distance  of 
more  than  forty  geographical  degrees,  or  eight  hundred 
leagues,  (which  surpassed  by  some  degrees  the  greatest 
extent  of  Europe,)  and,  bounded  in  all  its  western  extent  by 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  extended  to  the  pampas  of  Tucuman,  on 
the  southeast,  and  to  the  rivers  Ucayali  and  Marafion  on 
the  northeast.  This  vast  empire  contained  of  itself  ten 
or  eleven  millions  of  inhabitants,  a  number  which  rapidly 
diminished  after  the  conquest,  as,  in  the  year  1580,  the  gene 
ral  census,  made  by  order  of  Philip  II. ,  by  the  Archbishop 
Loaiza,  does  not  show  more  than  8,280,000  souls.* 

qui  ex  regione  quadam,  quas  Inclaterra  vocetur,  regnum  suum  rursus  in- 
trodueantur. 

*  The  computation  of  Father  Cisneros,  in  1579,  amounted  to  1,500,000 
inhabitants,  but  only  of  individual  tributaries  ;  and  Humboldt  was  doubt 
ful  in  taking  this  number  for  the  sum  total  of  the  inhabitants  of  Peru. 


70  PERU. 

Nevertheless,  the  population  diminislied  in  the  course  of 
time  to  less  than  one  half,  and  in  the  main  we  may  admit 
that  the  valleys  of  the  Peruvian  coast  contain  positively  but 
the  tenth  part,  or  even  less,  of  what  they  contained  in  the 
time  of  the  Incas.  The  valley  of  Santa,  for  instance,  held 
700,000  souls,  and  at  the  present  day,  the  number  of  its  in 
habitants  does  not  amount  to  1200.  According  to  Father 
Helen  dez,  were  found,  shortly  after  the  conquest,  in  the 
parish  of  Aucallama,  of  the  province  of  Chancay,  30,000 
individuals  paying  tribute  or  taxes — that  is,  men  of  more 
than  eighteen  or  twenty  years — and  at  present  they  number 
only  425  inhabitants,  and  among  them  320  slaves. 

We  will  conclude  these  considerations  with  a  wish  that  the 
ancient  history  of  Peru  may  find  a  historian  as  eminent  as 
the  history  of  its  conquest  has  found  in  Mr.  Prescott.  Would 
that  a  patriotic  government  would  aid  in  such  an  important 
enterprise ! 


NOTE. 


IT  is  a  fact  as  gratifying  as  it  is  singular,  that  a  work,  one  of  the  authors 
of  which  is  of  Spanish  descent,  and,  as  we  believe,  a  native  of  Peru, 
should  yield  to  our  distinguished  countryman,  Mr.  Prescott,  the  honor, 
not  merely  of  possessing  the  best  materials  for  illustrating  truly  the  his 
tory  of  Peru,  but  the  still  greater  honor  of  having  so  used  them  as  justly 
to  take  precedence  of  all  other  writers  on  the  conquest  of  that  interesting 
country. 

Indeed,  concerning  the  original  authorities  from  which  the  historian  of 
Peru  must  take  his  facts,  the  previous  chapter  furnishes  very  scanty  in 
formation;  while  on  this  head,  as  on  every  other  he  has  touched,  Mr. 
Prescott's  work  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  very  little  to  be  added. 

As  the  subject  of  the  chapter,  however,  is  the  ancient  history  of  Peru, 
perhaps  the  best  service  we  can  render  is  to  direct  the  attention  of  the 
reader  to  such  productions,  commented  on  by  Mr.  Prescott,  as  may  enable 
him,  if  so  disposed,  to  resort  to  more  abundant  and  better  materials  than 
those  suggested  by  our  authors. 

Gardlasso  de  la  Vega.  An  admirably  just  and  discriminating  notice  of 
this  writer  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Prescott's  Conquest  of  Peru,  vol.  I.,  p. 
293.  Our  authors  have  objected  to  Garcilasso  that  he  did  not  know  how 
to  decipher  the  Quippus;  Mr.  Prescott  states  expressly  that  he  did 
(p.  295). 

Fernando  Montesinos.  Our  readers  will  probably  have  seen  enough  of 
this  writer,  in  the  text,  to  satisfy  them  that  his  account  of  the  early  his 
tory  of  Peru  is  of  very  little  or  no  value.  He  had,  however,  opportuni 
ties  of  knowing  something  of  its  later  history,  and  on  that  subject  may 
sometimes  be  advantageously  consulted.  Mr.  Prescott  has  furnished  an 
account  of  him  and  his  writings  on  p.  78  of  the  first  volume  of  his  work 
on  Peru.  Ternaiix  Compans  has  translated  the  "  Memorias  Antiguas." 

Pedro  Pizarro.  He  was  related  to  Francisco  Pizarro,  the  conqueror, 

(71) 


72  PERU. 

and  went  to  Peru,  about  1529,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  in  the  suite  of  his 
kinsman.  He  wrote  "  Relaciones  del  Descubrimiento  y  Conquista  de  los 
Reynos  del  Peru,1'  of  which  Mr.  Prescotthad  a  manuscript  copy,  furnished 
by  Navarre te,  who  subsequently  published  it  in  his  collection.  For  an 
account  of  the  author  and  his  work,  see  Prescott's  Peru,  Yol.  I.,  p.  76. 

Pedro  Cieza  de  Leon.  He  wrote  "  Cronica  del  Peru,"  having  come  to 
America  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  This  is  a  valuable  book — though  part, 
only,  of  an  unfinished  work — for  the  history  of  which  the  reader  may 
turn  to  Mr.  Prescott's  first  volume,  p.  327. 

Gonzdlo  Fernandez  Oviedo.  He  wrote  " Natural  e  General  Historia  de 
las  Indicts"  which  Mr.  Prescott  has  in  manuscript.  It  has  not  been  pub 
lished  entire.  Ramusio  (as  Mr.  Prescott  states)  has  published  a  part,  and 
so  also  has  Barcia.  See  Prescott's  "Conquest  of  Mexico,"  Vol.  II.,  p. 
293,  and  "  Conquest  of  Peru,"  Yol.  II.,  p.  326. 

Augustin  de  Zarate.  His  history  of  Peru  was  published  first  at  Ant 
werp,  in  1555,  and  afterward  at  Seville,  in  1577.  An  English  translation 
by  Nicholas,  was  published  in  London,  in  1581.  It  was  reprinted  from 
the  Spanish  by  Barcia,  in  his  collection,  Vol.  III.  For  an  account  of  the 
author,  and  the  value  of  his  work,  see  Prescott's  Peru,  Yol.  II.,  p.  471. 

Diego  Fernandez  de  Palentino.  He  was  a  private  soldier  in  Peru,  but 
appears  to  have  possessed  an  education  above  his  station.  See  Prescott's 
Peru,  Yol.  II.,  p.  473. 

Juan  de  Sarmiento.  His  work,  which  exists  in  manuscript  only,  is  pos 
sessed  by  Mr.  Prescott.  It  is  entitled  "Relation  de  la  sucesion  y  govierno 
de  las  Yngas  Setiores  naturales  que  fueron  de  las  Provincias  del  Peru,  y 
otras  cosas  tocantes  a  aquel  Reyno."  It  is  particularly  valuable,  Mr.  Pres 
cott  states,  on  the  institutions  of  the  Peruvians.  Prescott's  Peru,  Yol.  I. 
p.  175. 

Polo  de  Ondegardo.  The  work  of  this  author,  who  was  a  jurist,  like  the 
last  named,  exists  in  manuscript  only.  Mr.  Prescott  gives  it  a  high  cha 
racter.  See  "  Peru,"  Yol.  I,  p.  177. 

Antonio  de  Herrer a.  He  wrote  "Historia  General  de  las  Indias  Occiden- 
tales"  and  drew  largely,  Mr.  Prescott  says,  from  the  manuscript  work  of 
Ondegardo,  mentioned  above,  as  he  did  also  from  the  "  History  of  the  In 
dies,"  by  Las  Casas,  bishop  of  Chiapa.  For  a  full  account  of  Herrera 
and  his  writings,  see  Prescott's  Mexico,  Yol.  II.,  p.  94. 

Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara.  His  works  are,  "Historia  General  de  las 
Indias"  and  "  Cronica  de  la  Nueva  Espana"  Barcia  has  incorporated 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  73 

both  into  his  collection,  of  which  they  form  the  second  volume.  The 
"  Cronica"  was  also  translated  into  Aztec,  of  which  a  copy  exists  in 
Mexico,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Chronicle  of  Chimalpain."  See  Pres- 
cott's  Mexico,  Vol.  II.,  p.  175. 

To  these  we  take  the  liberty  of  adding — 

Juan  Melendez.  "  Tesoros  Verdaderos  de  las  Yndias  del  Peru.'1  Printed 
in  Rome,  1681-2.  Three  vols.,  folio. 

Buenaventura  de  Salinas.  li Memorial  de  las  Historias  del  Nuevo  Mundo 
Piru."  Lima,  1630.  Quarto. 

Francisco  de  Xerez.  "Verdadera  Relation  de  la  Conguista  del  Peru." 
Printed  in  Barcia's  third  volume. 

4 


CHAPTEK   IV. 

THE     SYSTEM     OF     GOVERNMENT    AND     POLITICAL    INSTITU 
TIONS    OF   THE    INCAS. 

IT  is  not  our  object  to  explain  circumstantially  all  that 
belongs  to  the  government  and  administration  of  the  ancient 
Peruvian  territory ;  but  to  give  greater  clearness  to  the  chap 
ters  which  are  to  succeed,  we  cannot  do  less  than  offer  to  our 
,.eaders  a  brief  sketch  of  the  political  organization  of  the 
empire  of  the  INCAS. 

The  authority  of  the  Peruvian  monarchs  exceeded,  as  we 
have  already  hinted  in  our  preceding  chapter,  that  of  the 
most  powerful  kings  of  the  earth.  Their  will  was  the  su 
preme  law — no  council  of  state,  no  ministry  or  institution 
whatsoever,  could  limit  the  power  of  the  sovereign ;  and  if 
some  among  them  were  accustomed  to  consult  the  wise 
ancients,  it  was  only  through  deference,  or  for  their  own  pri 
vate  good,  and  not  by  any  organic  law  of  the  dynasty.  The 
INCA  was  the  master  of  the  life  and  estates  of  his  vassals, 
and  was  considered,  throughout  his  vast  empire,  as  the  su 
preme  arbiter  of  all  creatures  breathing  the  air  or  living 
in  the  waters.  "  The  very  birds  will  suspend  their  flight, 
if  I  command  it,"  said  ATAHUALLPA  to  the  Spaniards,  in 
his  hyperbolical  language. 

Moreover,  the  monarchs  of  Peru,  considered  as  children 
of  the  SUN,  and  descendants,  in  a  direct  line,  from  MANCO- 

(74) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  75 

CAPAC,  were  the  high  priests  and  oracles  in  religious  matters. 
Thus  uniting  the  legislative  and  executive  power,  the  supreme 
command  in  war,  absolute  sovereignty  in  peace,  and  a  vene 
rated  high-priesthood  in  religious  feasts,  they  exercised  the 
highest  power  ever  known  to  man — realized  in  their  persons 
the  famous  union  of  the  Pope  and  the .  Emperor,  and  more 
reasonably  than  Louis  XIV.,  might  have  exclaimed:  "  I  am 
the  State  /" 

We  may  characterize  the  form  of  government  as  a  theo- 
cratical  autocracy.  Clothed  with  dignity  so  complex  and  so 
elevated,  we  cannot  consider  singular  the  blind  obedience 
which  was  rendered  to  the  sovereign  by  his  subjects,  and  the 
profound  humility  with  which  they  approached  his  person. 
Add  to  this  that  the  celestial  descent  of  the  Inca  caused  him 
not  only  to  be  obeyed  as  absolute  monarch  and  a  venera 
ble  high  priest,  but  also  to  be  respected  as  a  deity;  his  per 
son  was  holy,  his  corpse  was  guarded  sacredly,  and  his  memo 
ry  religiously  respected. 

This  innate  veneration  was  increased  by  severe  laws : 
thus,  the  first  magnates  of  the  empire  did  not  dare  to  appear 
shod  in  the  presence  of  the  Inca  ;  the  chief  lords  came  to 
the  audiences  with  a  light  bundle,  in  token  of  submission, 
and  the  masses  were  obliged  to  pull  off  their  shoes  and 
stockings,  and  uncover  their  heads,  when  they  approached 
the  street  in  which  the  royal  palace  stood.  The  other  mem 
bers  of  the  royal  family  participated  in  the  universal  respect, 
but  in  a  smaller  degree  than  the  monarch  and  his  august 
spouse,  who  was,  excepting  her  royal  consort,  the  most 
respected  person  in  the  kingdom. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  if  we  believe  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega,  the  government  of  the  Incas  was  paternal,  and  all  the 
members  of  the  dynasty,  without  exception,  were  filled  with 
tender  solicitude  for  their  subjects,  with  whom  they  were 


76  PERU. 

accustomed  to  mix,  in  spite  of  their  hierarchy,  inquiring 
into  the  condition  of  the  inferior  classes}  seeing  that  they 
should  want  for  nothing,  and  that,  in  as  far  as  it  was  pos 
sible,  all  the  members  of  their  vast  empire  should  enjoy  con 
tentment  and  abundance.  They  also  condescended  to  preside 
at  certain  religious  festivities,  and  on  these  occasions  offered 
banquets  to  the  nobility,  in  which,  according  to  the  usage  of 
European  nations,  they  pledged  the  health  of  those  persons 
for  whom  they  felt  the  greatest  affection ;  a  custom  truly 
extraordinary,  and  which  we  are  surprised  to  meet  with 
among  the  American  Indians.  Moreover,  they  were  accus 
tomed  to  travel  through  their  dominions  to  acquaint  them 
selves  with  the  complaints  of  their  subjects,  or  to  regulate 
matters  which  the  lower  tribunals  had  submitted  to  their 
decision.  From  all  parts,  the  multitude  hastened  to  contem 
plate  their  monarch,  and  when  he  raised  the  curtains  of  the 
litter  or  palanquin  in  which  he  travelled,  to  allow  them  to 
see  him,  the  vociferations  with  which  the  multitude  congratu 
lated  him,  and  besought  Heaven's  favor  in  his  behalf,  were 
so  great,  that  we  are  told  the  motion  of  the  air  caused  those 
birds  which  were  flying  over  to  fall  to  the  ground* — a  pro 
digious  effect,  which,  with  equal  claim  to  probability,  Plu 
tarch  assures  us  took  place  in  Greece  when  the  Eoman  herald 
proclaimed  the  liberty  of  the  Greeks.  Those  places  in 
which  the  monarch  condescended  to  stop  were  religiously 
respected,  and  to  them  the  simple  inhabitants  devoutly 
resorted  in  pilgrimage,  and  treated  them  with  the  same  re 
spect  that  the  monks  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  show  to  the 
spots  consecrated  by  the  presence  of  the  Saviour. 

Although,  like  the  Oriental  monarchs,  the  Inca  possessed 
an  unlimited  number  of  concubines,  he  had  but  one  legiti- 

*  Sarmiento,  MS.  Relation,  Chap.  X.  (vide  Prescott,  IstO.,  p.16,  note.) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  77 

mate  spouse  or  wife,  called  Goya,  and  chosen  from  among 
his  sisters.  This  incest,  however  repugnant  it  may  seem  to 
our  ideas  of  morality,  was  the  natural  consequence  of  the 
conceit  in  which  the  Peruvians  held  their  monarch ;  who, 
supposed  to  be  supernatural  and  a  child  of  the  Sun,  might 
not  be  mixed  up  with  any  of  the  clay  of  which  mere  mor 
tals  were  composed  ;  besides,  such  incest,  for  reasons  proba 
bly  analogous,  was  the  law  or  custom  of  various  Oriental 
dynasties.  Such  were  the  Lagidas,  in  Egypt.  This  concen 
tration  of  the  blood  of  a  single  family,  and  the  absence  of 
all  foreign  element,  must  necessarily  have  impressed  a  distinc 
tion  of  physiognomy,  a  seal,  typical  of  the  royal  family,  and 
thus  augmented,  by  its  exceptional  character,  the  idolatrous 
veneration  of  the  vassals. 

All  the  male  children*  took  the  name  Inca  when  married, 
and  of  Auqui,  when  single.  To  designate  the  reigning 
monarch,  without  giving  him  his  name,  they  made  use  of 
the  title  Capac-Inca  (sole  king).  The  queen  was  known  by 
the  name  of  Goya.  The  females  of  royal  blood  bore  the 
denomination  of  Pallas,  when  married,  and  Nustas  when 
single.  The  name  of  Mamacunas,  or  Shipa-Coyas,  was 
reserved  for  the  concubines  who  were  not  of  royal  blood. 
The  throne  belonged  to  the  eldest  son  of  the  Coya  or  legiti 
mate  queen ;  and  the  sceptre,  according  to  Grarcilasso,  thus 
passed,  without  interruption,  from  fathers  to  sons,  during  the 
whole  period  in  which  the  imperial  dynasty  flourished. 

The  court  of  the  sovereign  was  composed  of  several  per 
sons,  of  a  rank  more  or  less  elevated.  Immediately  after 


*  G-ARCILASSO  says,  in  his  Commentaries,  Part  I.,  Chap.  XXXI.,  Book 
I,  in  the  most  explicit  manner,  that  to  the  female  descendants  did  not 
pertain  the  name  of  Inca ;  this  title,  therefore,  was  usurped  by  him  for 
himself,  as  he  was  the  son  of  a  "palla" 


78  PERU. 

the  monarchs  came  the  royal  children,  the  principal  mag 
nates,  and  the  most  distinguished  noblemen.  Afterward 
came  the  officers  of  the  royal  household,  who  were  members 
of  the  nobility  of  the  kingdom;  these  were  followed  by  the 
curacas  or  governors  of  the  conquered  provinces.  .  Besides 
this,  there  were  astrologers,  amautas,  or  learned  men,  poets, 
superior  officers,  adjutants,  a  guard  of  honor,  servants  of 
various  classes,  and  moreover  numerous  chasquis,  or  post 
boys,  always  ready  to  start  when  ordered  by  the  sovereign, 
be  it  on  business  for  the  State  or  private  matters — for  in 
stance,  when  he  wished  to  eat  fish  fresh  from  the  sea,  two 
hundred  leagues  off.*  Add  to  this  the  harem  of  the  mon 
arch,  which,  during  the  most  brilliant  epoch  of  the  kingdom, 
contained  seven  hundred  women,  each  one  of  which  had 
several  servants.  Garcilasso  assures  us  that  some  of  the 
Incas  left  more  than  three  hundred  direct  descendants. 
Thus  it  is  not  strange  that  the  court  of  Capac-Inca  contained 
more  than  eight  thousand  persons. 

As  in  European  countries,  the  Peruvian  aristocracy  de 
rived  its  origin  from  its  personal  valor  and  its  relationship 
to  the  sovereign.  It  contained  or  consisted  of  five  orders. 

I.  That  of  the  Incas  of  royal  blood,  who  came  from  the 
same  stock  as  the  sovereign.  This  order,  the  most  import 
ant  of  all,  was  divided  into  several  classes,  each  one  of 
which  boasted  of  springing  from  an  individual  of  royal 
blood,  although  all  terminated  in  the  divine  founder  of  the 
empire. 


*  Until  now,  but  little  notice  has  been  taken  of  the  ancient  custom  of 
the  chasqui  or  postboy's  receiving  from  his  prince  or  curate,  or  alcalde, 
a  certain  number  of  stripes  before  starting — a  punishment  which  they 
themselves  solicited  to  prevent  them  from  being  delayed  on  the  road  by 
pleasure,  or  from  stopping  in  resting-places. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  79 

II.  That  of  the  Incas  by  favor,  i.  e.  the  descendants  of  the 
principal  vassals  of  the  first  Inca,  to  whom  was  conceded  as 
a  gift,  or  by  respect,  the  privilege  of  using  this  title. 

III.  That  of  noblemen  sprung  from  families  distinguished 
for  the  riches,  valor,  science,  or  some  other  merit  of  their 
ancestors'  known  members. 

IV.  That  of  persons  endowed  with  the  highest  dignities. 
Y.  That  of  the  priesthood. 

The  noblemen  of  royal  blood  were  educated  by  the  amau- 
tas  and  prepared  for  the  huaracu,  a  ceremony  similar  to  the 
order  of  knighthood  of  the  middle  ages.  At  the  age  of  six 
teen  years,  they  were  examined  in  Cuzco,  in  a  house  in  the 
suburbs,  called  Collcampata — ancient  and  skilful  Incas  pre 
siding  at  the  examination.  The  candidates  were  obliged  to 
be  well  versed  in  the  athletic  games  of  war,  in  wrestling, 
and  other  exercises  which  tested  their  strength  and  agility. 
They  also  fought  in  mock  tournaments,  in  which,  although 
the  weapons  were  without  edge,  the  contest  always  resulted 
in  wounds,  and  sometimes  in  death.  They  were  also  com 
pelled  to  fast  many  days,  to  go  barefooted,  to  sleep  on  the 
ground,  dress  poorly,  and  submit  to  other  privations,  as 
much  for  the  purpose  of  accustoming  themselves  to  the  fa 
tigues  of  war,  as  to  make  them  comprehend  and  compassion 
ate  the  misery  of  the  necessitous.  'The  novitiates  were  after 
ward  presented  to  the  reigning  Inca,  who  pierced  the  ends 
of  their  ears  with  pins  of  gold,  which  they  wore  until  the 
aperture  was  sufficiently  large  to  hold  enormous  pendants, 
peculiar  to  their  order,  which  consisted  of  wheels  of  gold 
or  silver,  so  massive  and  heavy  that  they  prodigiously  en 
larged  the  ears,  deforming  the  size  of  the  cartilage  ;  but  this, 
among  the  natives,  was  considered  a  mark  of  beauty  and 
distinction.  The  Spaniards,  shocked  at  this  deformity,  gave 


80  PERU. 

the  name  of  Orejones  [great  ears]  to  those  lords  who  held 
the  first  offices  of  the  State,  civil  or  military.* 

The  name  Peru  was  not  known  to  the  natives,  and  accord 
ing  to  Garcilasso,  signifies  river,  a  word  which,  pronounced 
by  one  of  the  natives,  in  answer  to  a  question  put  by  the 
Spaniards,  gave  birth  to  an  error,  causing  this  name  to  be 
imputed  to  the  vast  empire  of  the  Incas,  the  adventurous 
troops  of  Pizarro  believing  that  thus  the  inhabitants  called 
the  country.  Montesinos,  who  endeavors  to  persuade  us 
that  Peru  is  the  ancient  Ophir  from  which  Solomon  extracted 
so  many  treasures,  says  that  this  name,  Peru,  is  a  corruption 
of  the  word  Ophir.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  the 
name  by  which  the  subjects  of  the  Incas  characterized  all 
the  States  depending  upon  the  sovereign  was  that  of  Tahuan- 
tisuyu,  which  signifies  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  The 
whole  country  was  divided  into  four  provinces  of  equal  di 
mensions  ;  that  of  the  south  was  called  Collasuyu^  that  of 
the  north,  Chinchasuyu,  that  of  the  east,  Antisuyu,  and  that 
of  the  west,  Cuntisuyu.  A  corresponding  road  led  to  each 
one  of  these  provinces.  These  roads  started  from  Cuzco,  the 
capital  or  centre  of  the  Peruvian  monarchy.  At  the  head 
of  each  province  was  a  viceroy,  or  governor,  who  ruled  with 
the  aid  of  one  or  more  counsellors.  Each  province  was 
divided  into  more  or  less  departments,  not  according  to  their 
territorial  extent  or  size,  but  according  to  the  number  of 
inhabitants.  And  for  the  better  administration  and  easier 
inspection  of  it,  the  Incas  invented  a  simple  system  of  sub 
division.  According  to  this  system,  the  population  of  the 
country  was  divided  into  groups  of  ten,  each  under  the  com 
mand  of  a  decurion :  ten  decurions  obeyed  one  centurion  : 


*  G-ARCILSSAO  DE  LA  VEGA,  Com.,  Part  I,  Book  VI.,  Chap.  XXIV.— 
XXVIII. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  81 

ten  centurions,  or  one  thousand  inhabitants,  had  for  chief  a 
principal  magistrate,  and  one  hundred  centurions,  or  ten 
thousand  men,  formed  a  department  under  a  governor. 
The  decurion's  office  was  to  watch  over  the  necessities  of 
those  who  were  under  his  command,  to  keep  the  governor 
informed  of  them,  and  to  make  known  the  petty  transgres 
sions  of  his  decuriates  to  the  principal  chief,  who  had  charge 
of  the  punishment.  The  greater  the  transgression,  the  great 
er  the  punishment,  and  the  higher  in  office  was  the  j  udge 
upon  whom  the  pronouncing  of  the  sentence  devolved.  The 
chief  of  any  section,  large  or  small,  who  did  not  rigorously 
fulfil  the  duties  of  his  office,  suffered  a  severe  penalty,  and 
was  deprived  of  his  employment.  In  order  to  be  certain 
that  each  one  of  these  chiefs  complied  with  his  obligations, 
the  Inca  was  in  the  habit  of  sending  inspectors  throughout 
the  kingdom.  The  transgressors  were  punished  almost  im 
mediately  after  the  accusation  of  them,  by  the  decurion ; 
each  cause  was  to  be  tried,  within  five  days  at  the  very 
latest,  after  having  been  carried  before  the  judge,  and  the 
sentence  once  pronounced,  there  was  no  appeal  from  it. 
Each  judge,  from  the  decurion  to  the  governor,  was  obliged 
to  give,  every  month,  to  his  superior  in  office,  a  circum 
stantial  account  of  all  that  had  taken  place  in  his  section, 
and  the  Inca  received  from  the  viceroys  an  extract  of  the 
most  important.  Thus  the  monarch,  seated  in  the  centre  of 
his  dominions,  could  overlook  his  most  remote  provinces, 
and  revise  and  rectify  whatever  evils  arose  in  the  administra 
tion  of  justice.  This  system  occupied  a  million  persons,  and 
was  immensely  defective,  be  its  advantages  what  they  may. 
This  administrative  organization  was,  to  a  certain  extent, 
somewhat  similar  to  the  ideas  of  certain  European  publicists 
of  the  past  and  present  centuries,  known  under  the  name  of 
socialists ;  but  there  is  another  branch  which  almost  entirely 
4* 


82  PERU. 

realizes  some  social  ideas  of  the  day,  and  which  to  some  ex 
tent  sacrifices  liberty,  the  idol  of  our  fathers,  and  immolates  it 
to  a  certain  fraternal  equality,  and  to  the  full  and  certain 
satisfaction  of  mere  material  wants.  The  proud,  harsh  sel 
fishness,  origin  of  so  many  evils,  and  of  the  universal  misery 
which  disquiets  and  prostrates  the  greater  part  of  the  human 
race,  can  alone  justify  these  monkish  systems,  which  operate 
upon  men  just  as  arithmetic  does  upon  homogeneous  quan 
tities,  and  robs  them  of  liberty,  that  is,  of  their  individuality 
and  the  expansion  of  their  being. 

Only  under  an  autocratical  government,  in  which  the  chief 
of  the  State  was  at  the  same  time  an  absolute  monarch  and 
a  venerated  pope,  and  only  under  a  population  essentially 
peaceable  and  agricultural,  was  it  possible  for  this  socialism 
to  exist. 

All  that  part  of  the  land  which  was  capable  of  being  cul 
tivated  was  divided  into  three  parts — one  belonged  to  the 
sun,  another  to  the  Inca,  and  the  third  to  the  people.  Each 
Peruvian  received  a  topu  of  land,  which  was  sufficient  to 
produce  the  necessary  corn  for  the  maintenance  of  a  married 
man,  without  children ;  if  he  had  children,  he  received  for 
each  male  child  one  more  topu,  and  for  each  daughter  half  a 
topu.  Upon  his  marriage  the  son  received  from  his  father 
the  topu  allotted  to  him  from  his  birth. 

In  cultivating  the  earth,  they  always  followed  a  fixed  rule ; 
first  were  cultivated  the  lands  pertaining  to  the  protecting 
divinity.  Afterward  they  attended  to  the  lands  of  the  aged, 
the  sick,  the  widowed  and  the  orphans,  as  also  to  those  of 
the  soldiers  who  were  engaged  in  active  service,  whose  wives 
were  looked  upon  as  widows.  Those  who  were  in  need  of 
grain  or  seed  to  sow,  were  provided  by  the  decurion  from 
the  royal  depository.  After  this,  the  people  cultivated  their 
own  lands,  each  one  for  himself,  but  under  an  obligation  to 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  83 

aid  his  neighbor,  when  the  charge  of  a  numerous  family,  or 
any  other  similar  circumstance,  required  it — a  fraternal  cus 
tom  which  even  at  this  day  is  practised  by  the  Peruvian  In 
dians.  Next  in  order  were  cultivated  the  lands  of  the 
Caracas,  and  finally  those  of  the  Inca,  by  the  whole  nation, 
with  much  ceremony  and  the  greatest  rejoicing,  singing 
popular  hymns  resembling  the  Spanish  romances,  in  which 
were  celebrated  the  exploits  and  noble  deeds  of  the  imperial 
dynasty.  These  songs  at  the  same  time  made  the  work  most 
agreeable,  as  much  by  the  moral  excitement  which  they  pro 
duced,  as  by  accommodating  the  labor  to  the  rhyme,  even  as 
soldiers  accommodate  their  pace  to  the  accompanying  sound 
of  the  drum.  The  beginning  of  a  song  was  generally  the 
word  hailli,  which  signifies  triumph.  Garcilasso  assures  us 
that  many  of  these  songs  were  sung  by  the  Spaniards,  who 
were  very  fond  of  them. 

The  Peruvians  improved  the  land  with  manure,  principally 
with  human  excrement,  which  they  collected  and  dried, 
using  it  in  a  pulverized  state,  after  having  sowed  the 
seed.  In  certain  provinces  they  used  the  dung  of  llamas, 
alpacas,  huanacos,  and  vicunas  ;  in  maritime  provinces,  they 
fertilized  the  earth  with  the  remains  of  dried  fish,  and  with 
the  huanu,  [i.  e.  guano]  or  dung  of  birds.  The  circumspec 
tion  of  the  monarchs  extended  even  to  this  point :  "  Each 
island,"  says  Garcilasso,  "was  marked  as  appropriated  to 
such  or  such  a  province ;  and  if  the  island  were  large,  it  sup 
plied  two  or  three  provinces.  They  placed  landmarks,  so 
that  those  of  one  province  might  not  encroach  upon  the  dis 
tricts  of  the  other ;  and  dividing  it  particularly,  they  gave 
to  each  one  his  limits,  and  to  each  neighbor  also  his  limits, 
measuring  out  the  quantity  of  manure  that  was  necessary ; 
and  under  pain  of  death,  the  citizen  of  one  place  could  not 
take  the  manure  without  his  own  boundary,  for  it  was  con- 


84:  PERU. 

sidered  a  theft — nor  from  their  own  boundary  could  they 
extract  more  than  the  quantity  which  was  appraised  to  it, 
which  was  a  sufficiency  for  their  lands,  and  a  wrong  in  this 
respect  was  punished  by  disgrace." 

The  distribution  of  the  nation,  such  as  we  have  described 
it,  possessed  very  many  advantages :  it  facilitated  the  ad 
ministration  of  the  whole  country,  knit  together  all  the  rela 
tions  of  the  State,  gave  to  it  an  unity  which  might  be  viewed 
at  a  glance,  and  secured  an  exact  account  of  the  increase  or 
diminution  of  the  population.  By  the  equal  distribution  of 
the  land,  the  Incas  avoided  pauperism,  a  terrible  evil  which 
devours  the  European  States.  Idlers  could  not  live  in  the 
empire  of  Peru,  since  each  individual  possessed  his  necessary 
occupation ;  as  little  were  there  any  needy ;  and  the  equal 
distribution  of  wealth  brought  profit  to  the  industrious  and 
skilful  only. 

By  the  above-mentioned  system  the  mode  of  raising  taxes 
was  very  much  facilitated.  From  twenty -five  until  fifty  years 
of  age,  each  Indian  was  taxed.  But  all  the  individuals  of 
royal  blood  were  exempt,  all  the  chiefs  and  judges,  down  to 
the  centurion,  the  curacas  with  their  parentage,  all  those  fill 
ing  minor  offices,  whilst  they  retained  the  position,  the 
soldiers  in  active  service,  the  priests  and  ministers  of  the 
temple  of  the  sun,  and  finally  all  the  invalids,  all  the  lame, 
and  really  infirm. 

The  tax  consisted  simply  of  personal  labor ;  each  one  of 
the  taxed  was  compelled  to  work  the  days  or  weeks  conse 
crated  to  the  Sun  or  to  the  Inca — each  one  according  to  his 
calling :  the  husbandman  ploughed  the  lands  of  the  monarch, 
the  weaver  spun  the  cloth  and  garments  for  the  court  and 
the  depositories  of  the  government,  the  silversmiths  made 
vases  and  idols  for  the  temples,  the  potters  made  vessels  of 
clay  for  the  use  of  the  Inca,  &c.  But  the  materials  were 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  85 

supplied  by  the  State,  which  also  undertook  to  support  the 
workmen  while  the  labor  lasted.  All  the  great  works  and 
gigantic  enterprises  for  common  use  were  executed  by  the 
taxed.  On  them  it  devolved  to  build  the  temples,  the  famous 
royal  roads,  the  bridges,  the  aqueducts,  to  water  the  corn 
fields,  to  build  the  inns  for  travellers,  the  palaces  for  gover 
nors,  the  storehouses  for  the  State.  It  was  also  their  charge 
to  preserve  and  repair  these  works,  to  assist  travellers,  to 
wait  on  them  at  the  inns,  perform  the  office  of  runners  or 
post-boys,  to  tend  the  cattle  which  belonged  to  the  Inca  and 
the  Sun.  The  immense  flocks  of  sheep  and  alpacas  were 
distributed  in  the  punas  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  the 
officers  who  superintended  them  kept,  by  a  particular  plan, 
an  exact  account  of  their  number. 

Each  young  Indian  was  obliged  to  follow  the  profession 
or  office  of  his  father,  and  the  sons  of  the  citizens  were  not 
permitted  to  learn  the  sciences,  which  were  reserved  peculiarlv 
for  the  nobility,  a  measure,  the  object  of  which  was  to  pre 
vent  the  lower  classes  from  becoming  proud ;  this  profession  of 
the  father  only  the  curacas  and  centurions  had  power  to 
change.  Neither  were  they  allowed  to  change  their  habita 
tion  ;  in  order  to  do  it,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  the  per 
mission  of  the  superior,  who  rarely  conceded  it.  Doubtless 
the  Incas  were  accustomed  to  move  entire  populations  to 
other  distant  provinces,  especially  those  recently  conquered, 
for  the  better  security  of  the  dependence  of  the  inhabitants 
by  their  mixture ;  always  taking  care  to  transfer  them  to 
countries  of  similar  climate,  and  devoted  to  the  same  occu 
pations. 

The  political  laws  were  concise  and  wise.  Father  BLAS- 
VALERA,  an  authentic  historian  whose  writings  are  approved 
by  Garcilasso,  quotes  the  following  (Garc.  Com.  I.,  Book  V., 
Chap.  XL,  fol.  109)  : 


86  PEEU. 

I.  The  municipal   law  treated   of    the   particular   duties 
which,  in  its  jurisdiction,  belonged  to  each  nation  or  people. 

II.  The  agrarian  law,  which  treated  of  the  distribution  of 
the  lands ;  the  dependent  was  called  CHACKACAMAYOC. 

III.  The  common  law,  which  designated  the  labors  which 
the  Indians  were  to  perform  in  common ;  for  instance,  to 
level  the  roads  under  the  direction  of  the  Hatunnancamayoc 
(superintendent  of  the  roads),   to  make  bridges  under  the 
command  of  the  Chacacamayoc  (superintendent  of  bridges), 
to  construct  aqueducts  and  canals  under  the  direction  of  the 
Yacucamayoc,  or  superintendent  of  the  waters,  etc. 

IY.  The  law  of  brotherhood,  which  treated  of  mutual  aid 
in  the  cultivation  of  lands  and  construction  of  houses. 

Y.  The  law  mitachanacuy,  which  regulated  the  periods 
when  work  was  done  in  the  different  provinces,  and  also, 
the  different  tribes,  lineages  and  individuals. 

YI.  The  economical  law,  which  treated  of  the  ordinary 
personal  expenses,  and  prescribed  simplicity  of  dress  and 
food.  At  the  same  time,  this  law  commanded  that,  two  or 
three  times  each  month,  the  neighbors  of  each  town  or  na 
tion  should  eat  together  in  the  presence  of  their  chief  officer, 
and  should  exercise  themselves  in  military  or  popular  games, 
with  a  view  of  reconciling  quarrels,  extirpating  all  enmities, 
and  producing  peace. 

YIL  TJie  law  in  favor  of  invalids,  which  required  that  the 
lame,  the  deaf,  the  dumb,  the  blind,  the  crippled,  the  decre 
pit,  and  the  infirm  should  be  supported  at  the  public  expense. 
This  law  also  commanded  that,  two  or  three  times  a  month, 
these  invalids  should  be  invited  to  the  festivals  or  public 
feasts,  so  that  among  the  general  rejoicing,  they  might  forget 
in  a  measure  their  miserable  condition.  The  Oncocamayoc, 
or  superintendent  of  the  sick,  was  the  executor  of  this  law. 

YIII.  The  law  of  hospitality,  which  prescribed  the  means 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  87 

of  ministering  to  the  necessities  of  strangers  and  travellers 
at  the  public  expense,  in  the  inns  called  Corpahuasis,  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  Corpahuasicamayoc. 

IX.  The  housekeeping  law,  which  regulated  individual 
labor,  and  provided  even  the  children  of  five  years  of  age 
with  occupations  proportioned  to  their  strength  and  years, 
as  also  to  the  infirm  according  to  their  faculties.  The  same 
law  commanded  that  the  Indians  should  dine  and  sup  with 
open  doors,  so  that  the  administrators  of  justice  might  have 
free  entrance  to  visit  them.  There  were  also  certain  officers 
called  Llactacamayoc,  or  superintendents  of  the  town,  who 
visited  very  frequently  the  temples,  the  public  edifices,  and 
the  private  houses,  and  who  kept  a  general  oversight,  to  see 
that  order,  neatness,  and  convenience  prevailed ;  punishing 
those  persons  who  lived  in  dirt  and  laziness,  by  blows  on 
the  arms  and  feet,  and  publicly  applauding  those  who  were 
distinguished  for  their  excellence  and  cleanliness. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  such  institutions  were  a  powerful 
means  to  preserve  the  morality  and  social  virtues  of  the  na 
tion,  and  that  they  were  truly  paternal,  since  they  united  the 
citizens  in  one  single  family,  whose  members  mutually  as 
sisted  arid  supported  each  other,  and  very  justly  might  the 
Count  Carli  say,  in  his  American  letters  (Yol.  I.,  p  215), 
that  the  moral  man  in  Peru  was  infinitely  superior  to  the 
European. 

The  code  of  civil  laws  was  simple,  and  the  punishments 
severe.  The  maxims  were  concise — i.  e.  ama  quellanquichu, 
avoid  idleness ;  ama  llwlanquichu,  avoid  lying;  amasuacun- 
quichu,  avoid  stealing  ;  ama  huachocclmcanqui,  avoid  commit 
ting  adultery  ;  ama  pictapas  huanuchinquichu,  avoid  murder. 

Idleness  was  severely  punished,  and  it  was  ignominious  to 
suffer  the  penalty  for  this  vice.  The  cheat  was  flagellated, 
and  sometimes  condemned  to  death.  There  were  grave  pun- 


88  PERU. 

ishments  for  those  who  destroyed  landmarks,  as  also  for 
those  who  prevented  the  water  from  fertilizing  the  neighboring 
fields  by  turning  it  upon  their  own  ;  or  for  those  who  injured 
the  harvests.  The  idler,  the  homicide,  the  burner  of  a  bridge, 
were  condemned  to  death,  ami  without  possible  remission  of 
the  sentence.  But  the  principal  punishments  were  reserved 
for  those  who  sinned  against  religion,  or  against  the  sacred 
majesty  of  the  Inca,  or  against  that  which  pertained  to  his 
person.  The  seduction  of  a  virgin  of  the  sun,  or  adultery 
with  one  of  the  women  of  the  Inca,  was  considered  a  crime 
so  abominable,  that  the  delinquent  was  buried  or  burnt 
alive,  as  were  also  his  wife,  his  sons,  his  ancestors,  servants, 
his  neighbors  of  the  town,  and  even  his  cattle.  At  the 
same  time  the  law  commanded  that  his  houses  should  be 
demolished,  his  trees  cut  down,  and  the  place  changed  into 
a  desert,  that  not  the  slightest  vestige  of  what  might  recall 
so  horrible  a  crime  should  remain.  Equally  severe  were  the 
punishments  awarded  to  those  provinces  which  rebelled 
against  the  Inca  ;  they  were  almost  invariably  invaded,  given 
up  to  the  soldiery,  and  all  the  males,  not  excepting  the  boys 
of  tender  years,  were  put  to  the  sword. 

It  only  remains  to  speak  of  the  military  system  of  the 
Incas.  Each  taxed  Indian  was  obliged  to  serve  a  certain 
time  in  the  royal  armies,  and,  when  freed  from  the  service, 
he  returned  to  his  people,  or  nation,  and  took  part  in  the 
military  exercises  which  were  held  once  or  twice  a  month 
under  the  command  of  the  centurions.  The  same  organiza 
tion  which  we  have  explained  in  the  civil  class,  reigned  in 
the  military  :  ten  men  were  governed  by  the  Chuncacamayoc 
(decurion),  fifty  by  the  P-ichcachuncacamayoc,  one  hundred 
by  the  Pachcacamayoc  (centurion),  and  a  thousand  by  the 
Huarancamayoc.  Five  thousand  men  were  under  the  com 
mand  of  the  Hatun-apu  (chief  captain),  who  also  had  a 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  89 

Hatun-apup-rantin,  or  second  captain,  under  him.  One  half 
of  this  number  obeyed  an  Apu  (captain),  with  his  Apup-ran- 
tin  (lieutenant).  The  Apusquipay  was  general  of  a  whole 
army,  and  his  lieutenant-general  bore  the  name  of  Apus- 
quip-rantin.  Each  division  had  its  Unanchacamayoc,  or  en 
sign,  its  trumpeters  (Queppacamayoc),  and  drummers  (Huan- 
car camay oc],  and  the  whole  army  bore  the  royal  standard. 
The  battalions  were  distinguished  by  their  arms,  of  which 
we  will  speak  hereafter. 

We  are  not  positively  told  how  long  the  soldier  was 
obliged  to  serve,  and  it  seems  to  have  depended  upon  cir 
cumstances.  When  the  Inca  employed  arms  against  a  resist 
ing  enemy,  or  in  unhealthy  provinces,  he  permitted  the 
soldiers  to  return  every  three  months,  and  even  oftener,  to 
their  country,  and  assembled  another  army  to  take  the 
place  of  the  licensed.  The  Inca  provided  his  soldiers  with 
uniforms  of  coarse  cloth  (Auasca),  shoes  of  woven  flax,  and 
arms :  which  formed  part  of  the  tax  of  the  nation. 

Very  admirable  were  the  precautions  and  solicitude  of  the 
Inca  for  the  soldiers  in  a  campaign.  In  the  greater  part  of 
the  kingdom,  were  found  on  the  royal  roads,  at  convenient 
distances,  deposits  of  arms  and  uniforms,  in  such  abun 
dance,  that  each  one  of  these  deposits  was  sufficient  to  equip 
an  army  with  everything  that  was  necessary,  and  care  was 
taken  that  the  governors  of  the  provinces  or  superintendents 
of  royal  warehouses  (Coptracamayoc)  should  always  keep 
these  storehouses  well  provided. 

In  crossing  a  friendly  country,  the  troops  dared  do  no 
injury,  and  the  slightest  excess  was  punished  with  death. 
How  different  from  our  armies  were  the  armies  of  that  day ! 

The  conquered  provinces  were  treated  by  the  Incas  with 
the  greatest  consideration  and  indulgence,  unless  the  obsti 
nacy  of  the  resistance  obliged  them  to  resort  to  severe 


90  PERU. 

measures.  Their  endeavors  were  directed  primarily  to  the 
incorporating  into  their  kingdom  of  the  conquered  territories, 
which,  with  some  exceptions,  obtained  a  better  position  than 
has  been  granted  by  any  conqueror,  ancient  or  modern,  of 
the  Eastern  hemisphere.  The  conquerors  imposed  upon  the 
conquered  their  religion,  language,  and  system  of  govern 
ment,  and  received  a  number  of  their  subjects.  But  in  spite 
of  this,  they  knew  how  in  a  short  time  to  gain  the  love  and 
veneration  of  their  new  subjects.*  Hardly  had  they  con 
quered  a  city,  when  the  Inca  caused  its  principal  idol  to  be 
carried  to  Cuzco  ;  and  ordained  the  adoration  of  the  Supreme 
God,  Tied  Huiracocha,  imposing  upon  the  priests  as  a  duty 
that  they  should  teach  the  conquered  the  worship  of  this 
deity.  He  also  sent  Amautas  and  masters  of  languages  to 
the  conquered  country,  that  they  might  teach  them  the 
Quicliua  tongue,  if  the  prevailing  idiom  were  different ;  com 
manding  under  the  severest  penalties  that  each  child  should 
learn  only  the  general  language  of  the  kingdom.  The 
sovereign  also  was  accustomed  to  cause  the  Prince  to  come 
to  the  capital  with  all  his  sons,  whom  he  overpowered  with 
kindness  and  presents  conferred  with  the  greatest  generosity  ; 
and  at  the  end  of  a  certain  time  he  restored  the  father  to  his 
ancient  dignity,  keeping  his  sons  as  hostages  in  the  court, 
but  giving  them  an  excellent  education,  and  loading  them 
with  gifts  and  proofs  of  benevolence.  In  order  to  gain  popu 
larity  with  the  masses  of  the  annexed  country,  the  Inca 
diminished  the  first  year  the  taxes,  and  treated  with  the 
greatest  liberality  the  orphans,  widows,  and  invalids :  at  the 
same  time  he  sent  officers  to  the  new  province,  that  they 

*  Thus  the  Incas  treated  the  conquered  nations,  with  a  view  to  prevent 
their  destruction — a  wise  arid  conciliatory  policy,  which  should  be 
adopted  by  more  refined  States,  instead  of  employing  means  tending  to 
destroy  them. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  91 

might  tax  and  enroll  all  the  inhabitants,  according  to 
their  age,  lineage  and  offices,  and  he  then  distributed  them 
according  to  the  system  adopted  in  the  other  provinces  of 
the  kingdom.  The  young  Indians  of  the  conquered  fought 
under  the  royal  banner,  and  those  who  remained  in  the 
country  were  the  objects  of  strict  and  continued  vigilance, 
in  order  to  suppress  in  the  bud  every  symptom  of  insurrec 
tion.  And  for  the  better  security  of  these  nations,  the  Incas 
sent  colonies  of  six  or  ten  thousand  persons  from  the  faith 
ful  provinces,  who  incorporated  themselves  with  the  con 
quered  masses,  while  an  equal  number  of  these  were  added 
to  that  province  from  which  the  colonies  were  sent:  but 
always  taking  care,  as  I  have  before  mentioned,  that  these 
colonies  should  be  sent  to  lands  of  similar  climate  and  pro 
ducts.  To  these  colonies,  called  mitimas,  the  monarch  grant 
ed  several  privileges,  by  means  of  which  he  secured  to  him 
self  the  fidelity  of  the  conquered  province. 

It  is  certain  that  history  has  no  record  of  any  government 
which,  by  such  adequate  means,  was  able  to  amalgamate  so 
intimately  such  different  nations,  and  form  of  them  a  whole 
so  compact ;  and  the  system  by  which  they  established  one 
of  the  most  extensive  empires  recorded  in  human  memory, 
is  as  praiseworthy  as  it  is  full  of  interest. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE   QUICHUA   LANGUAGE. 

THE  pride  of  civilized  communities  applies  the  term 
'  barbarous '  to  all  languages  spoken  by  nations  of  inferior 
culture,  that  are  without  literature  or  even  writing.  The 
American  languages  have  been  considered  such ;  all  of 
which,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  have  been  included  in  the 
same  category.  Although  it  is  generally  well  known  that 
the  empires  of  Mexico  and  Peru  surpassed  in  power  and 
civilization  the  other  nations  of  the  New  World,  yet,  in  our 
opinion,  justice  has  not  been  done  to  those  two  nations ;  and 
the  contemptuous  apathy  of  Europeans  has  been  the  cause 
why  the  literary  and  scientific  world  has  been  left  in  igno 
rance  of  many  treasures  which  would  have  been  brought  to 
light,  by  a  studious  resort  to  sources,  now  indeed  lost,  but 
the  products  of  which,  put  forth  in  earlier  centuries,  are 
still  visible,  and,  indeed,  scarcely  covered  by  the  dust  of 
time. 

The  strongest  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  assertion  is  to  be 
found  in  the  little  appreciation  of  the  study  of  the  languages 
of  those  two  countries ;  and  it  is  strange  that  even  those 
who  havre  most  studied  their  archaeology,  have  passed  by,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  study  of  the  idioms  spoken  by  their 
independent  and  powerful  inhabitants  in  earlier  times. 
Without  doubt,  language  is  the  chief  archaeological  element, 

(92) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  93 

the  sole  monument  of  reconstruction,  as  Volney  has  termed 
it;  and  in  it  will  be  found  disposed,  and  preserved,  the 
entire  essence  of  a  people.  Language  is,  as  it  were,  a  strati 
fication,  which  reveals  to  the  learned  who  study  philosophi 
cally  its  various  layers,  the  genius,  culture,  and  different 
historic  changes  of  the  people  who  used  it.  "  As  long  (says 
Mirabeau)  as  men  are  obliged  to  use  words,  it  will  be  neces 
sary  to  weigh  them."  The  modifications  of  a  language  in 
dicate  the  changes  of  thought,  feelings,  aspirations,  and  even 
of  national  customs  and  fluctuating  habits.  :c  Let  no  one 
(says  Quintilian)  consider  as  trifling  or  useless  the  alphabetic 
elements ;  since,  if  their  wonderful  enfoldings  be  looked  into, 
there  will  spring  forth  a  multitude  of  subtle  questions, 
capable,  not  merely  of  guiding  children  aright,  but  of  draw 
ing  on,  and  enriching,  the  most  profoundly  learned." 

Impressed  with  these  principles,  we  have  thought  it  would 
prove  of  interest  to  our  readers  should  we  he^e  present  a 
short  review  of  the  relations  of  the  American  languages  to 
each  other ;  and  particularly  of  the  character  of  the  Quichuan 
or  Peruvian  tongue ;  flattering  ourselves  that  the  present 
chapter,  offering  a  compound  of  extended  and  laborious 
observations  which  we  have  made  on  this  subject,  will  not 
be  the  least  important  in  our  work. 

In  our  first  chapter  we  have  shown  the  relations  of  the 
two  hemispheres  to  each  other  before  the  coming  of  Colum 
bus  ;  and  in  view  of  those  relations,  this  question  naturally 
occurs  to  one  engaged  in  the  study  of  American  languages : — 
What  influence  had  the  immigration  from  the  old  Continent 
upon  the  aboriginal  nations  of  America  ?  It  may  safely  be 
answered  that  this  influence  was  insensible,  and  not  in  any 
degree  capable  of  imprinting  a  mark  on  the  language,  nor  of 
enlightening  the  philologist  in  a  knowledge  of  the  nature  of 
the  immigrant  races. 


94:  PERU. 

Passing  by  the  irruptions  made  into  the  very  bosom  of  the 
American  continent,  irruptions  which  almost  always  took 
place  from  the  North  to  the  South,  the  greater  part  of  the 
immigrations  from  the  Eastern  hemisphere  presented  a  pacific 
character ;  and  immigrations  of  this  kind  had  very  -little  or 
no  influence  on  the  languages  of  the  country  which  received 
them ;  in  support  of  this  truth,  not  to  mention  other  instances, 
it  is  sufficient  to  refer  to  the  case  of  the  United  States,  where 
the  national  idiom  is  not  in  the  slightest  degree  altered  by 
the  numerous  Dutch,  German  and  French  immigrations 
which  are  emptied  in  her  ports. 

Building  upon  the  analogy  of  loose  and  exceptionable 
words,  there  have  been  philologists  who  have  pretended 
that  the  American  continent  was  peopled  by  East  Indians, 
Malays,  Chinese  and  Japanese;  others,  alleging  with  equal 
confidence  proofs  of  a  similar  nature,  think  that  America 
derived  its  population  from  the  inhabitants  of  Caucasus, 
from  Carthaginians,  Jews,  and  Irish  ;  while  others  still, 
assure  us  that  the  origin  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  Scandina 
vians,  the  natives  of  Western  Africa,  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Biscayans.*  The  analogy  so  much  relied  on  between  the 
words  of  the  American  languages  and  those  of  the  ancient 
continent,  have  induced  us  to  make  an  approximate  estimate, 

*  Mr.  Castelneau,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  his  expedition  to  South 
America  (Paris,  1851),  in  the  chapter  which  treats  of  the  antiquities  of 
Cuzco,  makes  a  division  of  the  human  species  into  the  three  races,  white, 
red,  and  black,  as  descendants  of  the  three  sons  of  Adam  and  the  three 
sons  of  Noah.  After  various  considerations  in  support  of  his  opinion, 
citing  various  authors,  both  ancient  and  modern,  he  concludes : 

1.  That  the  Indians  of  America  pertain  to  the  Semitic  race. 

2.  That  they  are  the  descendants  of  the  Atlantes,  making  part  of  the 
red  race  which  extended,  in  remote  times,  over  a  great  part  of  the  ancient 


PERUVIAN"  ANTIQUITIES.  95 

as  far  as  our  means  would  permit,  of  the  numerical  value  of 
the  idioms  of  both  hemispheres  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  from 
between  eight  and  nine  thousand  American  words  one  only 
could  be  found  analogous  in  sense  and  sound  to  a  word  of 
any  idiorn  of  the  ancient  continent;  and  that  in  two-fifths  of 
these  words,  it  was  necessary  to  violate  the  sound  to  find  the 
same  meaning ;  as  we  can  illustrate  by  some  examples  cited 
by  philologists  : 

Ne  in  the  language  of  the  Cherqueses,  nahui  in  the  Qui- 
chua — the  eye. 

Mnts  in  the  language  of  the  Lesgos,  metztle  in  Mexican — 
the  moon. 

Nane  in  the  Coptic,  neen  in  the  Abipone  language — good. 

Hosono  in  the  East  Indies,  acsi  in  the  Quichua — to  laugh. 

Fiote  in  Congo,  lode  in  the  Otomi  (Mexico) — :black. 

Zippen  in  the  Celtic,  sapi  in  the  Quichua — a  root. 

Doubtless  there  are  words,  which,  from  the  analogy  both 
in  sound  and  sense,  invite  serious  reflection ;  and  this  analogy, 
combined  with  historical  considerations,  sometimes  conducts 
us  to  important  discoveries ;  such,  for  instance,  (not  to 
enumerate  other  examples)  is  the  Quichua  word  for  the  sun, 

3.  That  America  never  was,  during  a  long  series  of  centuries,  cut  off 
from  communication  with  the  Old  World. 

Kelying  on  philological  resemblances  and  on  other  observations,  he 
cites  among  other  things  the  relation  of  an  Israelite  whom  he  encoun 
tered  at  Santarern,  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon,  who  assured  him  that 
in  the  idioms  which  are  spoken  in  the  adjacent  regions,  there  may  be 
found  more  than  five  hundred  words  identical  with  the  Hebrew — an 
assertion  which  we  very  much  doubt ;  and  which,  at  this  day,  is  not  of 
the  same  importance  as  the  one  (identical  with  it  in  all  respects)  which 
the  Jew  made  to  Montesini  in  the  seventeenth  century,  as  we  have  rela 
ted  in  the  first  chapter. 

It  is  not  possible  from  loose  words,  nor  even  from  customs  and  particu 
lar  instruments,  safely  to  deduce  conclusions  so  grave  and  important. 


96  PERU. 


ij  which  unquestionably  derives  its  origin  from  the  San 
scrit  root  Indht  to  shine,  to  burn,  to  flame,  and  which  is  iden 
tical  with  the  East  India  word  Indra,  the  sun.  The  word 
mtit  which  held  so  important  a  signification  in  the  religion 
of  the  ancient  Peruvians,  was  taken  from  the  private  lan 
guage  of  the  Incas,  and  permits  us  to  see  what  elements  were 
contained  in  the  idiom  of  the  reformers  of  the  Peruvian  wor 
ship.  Still  it  has  not  been  possible  to  trace  satisfactory  an  a!  ogies 
between  the  languages  of  the  barbarous  Indians  (particularly 
of  South  America)  and  the  idioms  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere, 
because  of  the  large  number  of  the  first  named,  which,  ac 
cording  to  some  philologists,  amounts  to  not  less  than  two  or 
three  thousand,  while,  according  to  others,  there  are  only  five 
hundred,  or  even  less  ;  so  that  after  repeated  attempts,  no 
satisfactory  result  has  as  yet  been  reached,  in  consequence  of 
the  immense  difficulties  presented  in  the  examination  of  the 
subject.  It  is  probable  that  the  true  number  may  be  placed 
between  the  two  above  named.  In  the  continent  of  South 
America,  i.  e.,  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  Cape  Horn, 
there  may  be  found  from  280  to  340  languages,  of  which 
four-fifths  are  composed  of  idioms  radically  different  ;  and 
the  idioms  of  Central  and  North  America  rise  to  a  number 
more  than  the  double  of  these.  According  to  Jefferson,  the 
radical  languages  of  America,  i.  e.,  according  to  the  roots 
from  which  they  are  evidently  derived,  are  twenty  times 
more  numerous  than  the  radical  languages  of  Asia. 

That  many  American  idioms  recognize  the  same  root, 
admits  of  no  doubt,  although,  at  times,  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  give  the  proofs  of  a  common  origin.  To  attain 
this  end,  we  ought  above  all  things  to  consider  the  influence 
upon  the  formation  of  language  of  the  mode  of  life  of  the 
natives  ;  and  from  that  to  deduce  the  causes  of  different 
tongues.  The  wandering  life  of  the  Indians  was  one  of  the 


PEKUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  97 

most  powerful  causes  of  the  formation  of  dialects,  \vhicli 
were  so  transformed  by  time  as  scarcely  to  retain  a  vestige 
of  the  mother  tongue.  The  dispersion  of  the  tribes  over 
immense  plains  and  almost  inaccessible  mountains,  the  sight 
of  new  objects,  novel  customs,  the  complete  separation,  and 
destruction  of  all  kind  of  relation  with  sister  tribes,  were 
causes  more  than  sufficient  to  form,  in  a  short  time,  a  multi 
tude  of  new  words,  and  to  produce  an  idiom  which  at  first 
view  would  seem  to  be  entirely  distinct  from  the  mother 
tongue.  But  the  grammatical  construction  remains  an  in 
destructible  monument  to  attest  the  affiliation  which  no  cir 
cumstances  of  time  or  place  can  obliterate. 

But  more  frequent  than  these  transformed   languages  or 
dialects,    do   we   find    original   idioms   completely   distinct 
between  t\vo  adjacent  nations  having  constant  communica 
tion,  while  some  tribe,  residing  in  the  mountains  at  a  distance 
of  more  than  one  hundred  leagues,  will  be  found  speaking 
the  language   of    one    of  these   neighboring   or    adjacent 
nations,  although  there  are  interposed,  between  these  people 
of  a  common  idiom,  more  than  twenty  intervening  idioms 
completely  different.     Without  citing  many  other  examples 
of  this,  it  is  sufficient  to  refer,  in  proof  of  our  assertion,  to 
the  striking  instance  of  the  Quichua  and  the  Moxa  tongues. 
As  it  respects  words,  there  are  not  a  half  dozen  in  the  two 
languages  alike  in  sense  and  sound ;  and  the  grammatical 
differences  are  very  great ;  yet  were  they  adjacent  to  each 
other.     Thus,  the  Quichua  language  has  a  complete  declen 
sion,  formed  by  means  of  certain  particles  placed  after  the 
noun ;  while  the  Moxa  language  has  strictly  no  declension, 
and  is  obliged  to  form  the  cases  by  a  periphrasis ;  as  for 
instance,  in  the  dative,  which  is  often  formed  by  the  aid  of 
the  future  tense  of  the  substantive  verb.     Again,  the  Qui 
chua  has  primitive  personal  pronouns,  and  also  possessive 
5 


98  PERU. 

pronouns  quite  distinct  from  the  personal ;  and  these  are 
always  inseparable  from  the  noun,  and  always  placed  after 
it;  or  if  used  in  the  conjugation  of  a  verb,  they  take  the 
place  of  a  personal  pronoun  to  the  verb ;  the  Moxa  has 
primitive  personal  pronouns  identical  with  the  pos.sessives, 
and  always  placed  before  the  word  used.  The  Quichua  has 
a  system  of  numbers  so  complete  that  any  arithmetical 
quantity  can  be  expressed  by  them,  while  the  Moxa  has  but 
four  numbers — ete,  one,  api,  two,  mopo,  three,  tricJiiri,  four ; 
for  five  and  all  beyond  it,  the  number  must  be  expressed  by 
a  periphrasis. 

The  Quichua  language  has  a  very  perfect  form  of  conju 
gation,  and  the  moods  and  tenses  are  more  complete  than  in 
many  of  the  most  cultivated  languages  of  the  ancient  conti 
nent  ;  while  the  Moxa  has  only  a  single  mood,  the  indica 
tive,  and  two  forms  of  tenses,  one  for  the  present  and  past, 
and  the  other  for  the  future,  which  last  is  at  times  made  to 
serve  in  place  of  an  imperative  also.  These  few  but  striking 
differences  sufficiently  show  that  these  two  neighboring 
idioms  are  both  primitive,  and  do  not  proceed  from  the  same 
root. 

All  the  American  languages,  from  the  most  northern 
shores  of  Greenland  to  the  most  southern  point  of  Patagonia, 
possess  two  common  grammatical  characteristics — one  of 
these  exists  also  in  some  of  the  primitive  languages  of  the 
ancient  continent ;  the  other  is  characteristic  of  the  Ameri 
can  tongues,  and  is  the  link  which  unites  them.  The  first 
relates  strictly  to  the  whole  grammar,  since  it  is  not  formed 
by  any  internal  change  of  the  radical  sound  of  a  word,  or 
by  inflection,  but  by  the  addition  to  the  radical  word,  of  par 
ticles  or  special  words  which  convey  the  relation  it  is  desired 
to  express ;  or  in  other  words,  by  a  mechanical  affix.  On 
this  account  these  idioms  have  received  the  name  of  polisyn- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  99 

thetic  or  agglutinate  languages.  This  mechanical  connection 
is  often  so  plain  that  it  cannot  be  mistaken  :  but  sometimes 
the  affixes  are  found  so  intimately  united  with  the  radical 
word,  that  nothing  short  of  attentive  study  is  sufficient  to 
show  that  there  is  not  really  inflection,  but  simply  aggluti 
nation. 

Jhe  second  characteristic,  which,  as  we  have  said,  is  pecu 
liar  to  the  American  languages,  consists  in  particular  forms 
of  the  verb,  by  means  of  which  the  activity  of  the  subject 
is  transferred  to  a  personal  object :  that  is,  if  the  action  of  a 
personal  subject  is  directed  to  a  person,  the  pronoun  which 
indicates  this  person  is  expressed  by  a  change  of  the  verb, 
and  not  by  the  intercalation  of  the  accusative  of  the  pro 
noun,  as  in  the  European  languages,  but  by  different  affixes 
to  the  pronoun,  intimately  united  both  with  it  and  with  the 
verbal  trunk,  or  with  the  verb  thus  combined  with  its  par 
ticles.  There  are  six  forms  of  this  transfer  of  action :  of 
the  first  person  to  the  second,  of  the  first  person  to  the  third ; 
of  the  second  to  the  first,  and  of  the  second  to  the  third ; 
of  the  third  to  the  first,  and  of  the  third  to  the  second.  All 
the  American  languages,  however,  have  not  these  six  forms. 
In  some  are  wanting  those  to  the  third  person ;  in  others, 
those  of  the  third  to  those  of  the  first,  so  that  they  have  but 
two  forms.  The  precision  and  care  with  which  these  rela 
tions  are  distinguished  are  particularly  admirable  in  the 
Mexican  tongues ;  for  in  them  there  is  one  form  of  the  verb 
when  the  action  refers  to  a  personal  object,  another  when 
the  reference  is  to  something  inanimate,  and  another  still 
when  there  is  no  reference  to  an  object  at  all,  i.  e.  when  the 
verb  is  neuter.  Not  less  artificial,  in  this  respect,  are  the 
Quichua  and  the  language  of  Greenland  ;  but  it  is  most  de 
veloped  in  the  idiom  of  the  Delawares,  and  in  the  Chilidugu, 
in  Aranca,  sometimes  uniting  in  them  two  verbs  so  com- 


100  PERU. 

pletelj,  that  both,  are  conjugated  through  all  their  forms,  so 
that  one  single  word  expresses  three  or  four  ideas  at  once. 
The  Spanish  grammarians  have  called  this  union  of  the  pro 
noun  and  verb  transition;  Dr.  Von  Tschudi,  in  his  large 
work  on  the  Quichua  language,  calls  it  the  conjugation  of  the 
personal  object. 

We  would  further  invite  attention  to  certain  peculiarities 
of  the  American  languages,  which,  if  not  found  in  all,  yet 
exist  in  the  greater  part  of  them.  These  peculiarities  relate 
principally  to  the  use  of  the  pronoun.  A  double  form  of 
the  first  person  plural  exists  in  the  personal  and  possessive 
pronouns.  The  first  is  used  when  a  person  includes  in  the 
discourse  himself  and  all  others  present  connected  either 
casually  or  necessarily  with  the  subject ;  the  second  is  used 
when  a  certain  number  is  excluded  from  the  action  of  which 
the  speaker  treats.  These  two  forms  are  called  the  inclusive 
and  exclusive  plural,  and  are  repeated  in  the  verb,  if  not  also 
in  the  substantive.  Besides  these  two  plurals,  in  some 
idioms  there  is  an  exact  dual.  Various  species  of  concrete 
duals  are  formed  by  means  of  affixes,  which,  united  to  a  sub 
stantive,  signify  the  object  or  person  designated  by  the  sub 
stantive  with  the  part  or  member  which  most  naturally 
belongs  to  it  or  him  ;  for  example  :  in  the  Quichua  language, 
cosa  means  a  husband  ;  and  the  affix  ntin,  including  the  idea 
of  union,  cosantin  means  a  husband  with  his  wife  ;  kacha  sig 
nifies  a  tree,  and  hachantin  a  tree  with  its  roots.- 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  too,  that  in  some  American 
idioms,  the  women  use  pronouns  different  from  those  used  by 
men.  Thus  in  the  Moxa,  the  demonstrative  ema  means  *  this1 
in  the  mouth  of  a  man ;  a  woman  would  express  *  this1  \>y 
the  word  eni ;  marcani  signifies  lhej  and  is  used  by  a  man  ; 
a  woman  would  use  pocnaqui  to  say  '  he.1  The  same  differ 
ence  is  observed  in  other  parts  of  speech,  according  to  the 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  101 

difference  of  sexes ;  thus,  in  the  Quiehua,  a  brother,  speak 
ing  of  his  sister,  says,  panay  (my  sister) ;  while  a  sister, 
desirous  of  expressing  the  same  thing,  says,  nanay  (my 
sister) ;  so  a  sister,  speaking  of  a  brother,  says,  huauquey  (my 
brother);  while,  to  indicate  the  same  person,  the  brother 
says,  llocsimasiy-liuauquey  (my  brother) ;  a  father  says  clmriy 
(my  son),  and  the  mother  says  karihuahuay  (my  son) ;  the 
father  says  to  his  daughter  ususiy(my  daughter) ;  the  mother 
calls  her  huarma-lwahuay  (my  daughter).  Similar  differences 
exist  if  an  uncle  speaks,  according  as  his  relationship  is  on 
the  paternal  or  maternal  side.  We  find  differences  analogous 
to  these  in  the  Chilidugu,  Maypuri,  Tamenaki,  Mexican, 
Chippeway,  Kickapoos,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Ottoway,  Potowot- 
amy,  "Wyandot.  Shawnee,  and  other  languages.  That  which 
is  most  surprising  is,  that  the  same  difference  is  remarked  even 
in  the  most  simple  parts  of  speech  ;  so  that  the  interjections 
of  grief,  far  instance,  used  by  males,  are  different  from  those 
used  by  females ;  the  woman  utters  other  words  than  the 
man  uses  to  direct  attention  to  something,  and  the  interjec 
tions  employed  to  animate  or  cheer  in  work  are  different  as 
used  by  man  or  woman.  Azara  assures  us  that  among  the 
Mbaya  Indians  of  Paraguay,  the  language  varies,  according 
as  the  person  who  speaks  is  married  or  single — a  peculiarity 
which  probably  obtains  in  certain  expressions  or  forms  of 
speech  only. 

To  all  the  American  languages  also  belongs  the  construc 
tion  of  words  by  means  of  one  or  more  affixes  joined  to  the 
primitive  word,  thus  providing  for  the  formation  of  many 
compound  words.  But  this  compounding  is  not  limited  to 
the  use  of  affixes  or  particles  only,  for  sometimes  various 
parts  of  speech,  in  whole  or  in  part,  are  united  with  the 
primitive  word,  which,  regularly,  is  a  verb.  From  this  pro 
cess  result  entire  phrases  expressed  solely  by  a  word  thus 


102  PEKU. 

super-compounded.  This  faculty  of  composition  or  polisyn- 
thesis,  as  Duponceau  calls  it,  is  found  in  a  greater  degree  in 
the  languages  of  North  America,  than  it  is  in  those  of  the 
southern  part  of  our  hemisphere ;  and  among  the  former,  it 
is  not  a  rare  thing  to  find  twelve  or  eighteen  different  parts 
of  speech  united  to  form  a  single  word. 

Prom  the  mere  compounding  of  words,  that  is,  from  the 
union  of  single  particles  with  the  primitive  word,  is  derived 
an  immense  quantity  of  words  in  the  American  languages, 
which,  as  we  have  said,  may  be  increased  ad  infinitum.  This 
extraordinary  copiousness  has  astonished  the  philologists, 
who  assure  us  that  for  every  English  or  Spanish  word,  the 
Indians,  in  their  languages,  have  three  or  four.  The  most 
exact  designation  of  an  object  or  an  action  is  another  charac 
teristic  of  American  languages.  The  mode  of  living,  the 
immediate  relations  with  nature,  the  vigilance  with  which  it 
is  necessary  to  guard,  day  and  night,  against  the  .attacks  of 
wild  beasts,  or  adjacent  enemies,  all  these  force  the  tribes  to 
use  the  greatest  precision  in  speech.  With  all  the  auxiliary 
means  of  our  cultivated  languages,  we  are  not  able  to  de 
scribe  with  the  definite  and  unmistakable  precision  of  an 
American  Indian,  the  track  of  a  wild  beast,  or  the  foot 
print  of  an  enemy. 

It  is  scarce  necessary  to  remark  that  this  copious  abundance 
of  words  produces  an  extraordinary  variety  in  discourse ; 
nevertheless,  these  languages  are  distinguished  by  energy  and 
conciseness,  exceeding  in  these  respects  the  most  perfect 
tongues  in  Europe.  And  yet  such  languages  are  called  bar- 
barous!  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  so  much  genius  and  so 
many  distinctive  traits  of  richness  and  beauty  as  adorn  the 
American  languages,  should  be  accompanied  with  an  almost 
total  want  of  literature ;  and,  as  to  this  point,  certain  it  is 
that  the  Eastern  hemisphere  was  two  thousand  years  in 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  103 

advance  of  all  our  Indian  populations.  Before  the  coming 
of  Europeans,  there  was,  among  our  natives,  a  want  of  rep 
resentative  characters ;  or  at  best,  they  were  limited  to  an 
imperfect  graphic  representation,  or  to  some  defective  mate 
rial  sign  of  a  word.  The  first  of  these  existed  among  the 
Mexicans,  who  used  hieroglyphics  painted  on  paper,  or 
graved  on  stone ;  the  second  was  found  among  the  Peru 
vians,  who  employed  their  quippos,  of  which  we  shall  speak 
more  fully  hereafter.  The  indefatigable  zeal  of  some  among 
the  learned  has  sought  to  find  an  explanation  of  the  hiero 
glyphics,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  what  is  desired  might 
be  attained  if  we  had  these  characters  in  greater  abundance  ; 
but  the  immense  collection  of  Mexican  writings  was  destroyed 
almost  entirely  by  the  fanaticism  of  the  Spanish  conquerors, 
and  particularly  of  the  Dominican  friars  who  accompanied 
them,  so  that  nothing  has  been  saved  but  a  few  isolated  frag 
ments.  How  great  was  the  treasure  of  manuscripts  may  be 
judged  of  from  the  relation  of  Torquemada,  who  tells  us,  that 
even  in  the  last  days  of  the  Mexican  monarchy,  five  cities 
only  delivered  up  to  the  governor  sixteen  thousand  bundles 
of  papers,  made  of  the  maguay  plant  (Agave  Americana), 
and  that  the  whole  of  these  were  filled  with  painted  hiero 
glyphics. 

Besides  the  two  cultivated  nations  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
there  were  also  others  which  present  us  with  indications, 
though  obscure,  of  the  possession  of  a  hieroglyphic  writing, 
which  has  not  been  deciphered,  and  probably  never  will  be. 
Such  are  the  Hurons,  the  Iroquois,  the  Indians  of  the  Eio 
del  None,  of  Louisiana,  and  others.  Those  countries  which 
have  been  taught  the  use  of  foreign  characters,  show  us 
nothing  but  a  meagre  and  insignificant  literature,  consisting 
principally  of  prayers,  catechisms,  sermons,  and  books  of 
elementary  instruction. 


104  PERU. 

Among  the  last-named  class  of  languages,  however,  an 
exception  is  to  be  made  in  favor  of  the  Tiroki  ;*  thanks  to 
the  indefatigable  labor  of  a  native,  SEQUOIAH,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  in  America,  who,  within  little  more 
than  the  last  twenty  years,  has  invented  a  syllabic  •  alphabet 
which  so  soon  became  familiar  to  the  nation  that  the  ThiroJci 
Phceniz,  a  newspaper,  has  been  printed  in  the  native  lan 
guage,  in  the  letters  of  this  alphabet. 

After  these  observations  on  the  principles  of  the  American 
languages  in  general,  we  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  extend 
them  to  a  particular  explanation  of  the  grammar  of  the 
Quichua  language ;  and  he  who  wishes  to  be  instructed  in 
that,  can  refer  to  one  of  the  grammars  of  that  idiom.  It  may 
be  of  interest,  however,  to  the  lovers  of  that  beautiful  tongue 
to  know  at  least  the  titles  of  the  philological  works  which 
treat  of  it ;  and  as  even  among  the  Peruvians  themselves 
they  are  but  little  known,  we  here  present  a  bibliographical 
and  chronological  catalogue  of  grammatical  works  on  the 
Quichua  language.')'  It  is  much  to  be  wished  that  some  truly 

*  Our  author  means  the  Cherokee.     [TRANSLATOR.! 
fThe  translator  has  transferred  this  from  the   text  to   the   following 
note: 

I.  San  Thomas  (Domingo  de).     Gramatica  6  arte  general  de  la  lengua 
de  los  Indies  del  Peru.     Nuevamente  compuesto  por  el  maestro   Fray 
Domingo  de  San  Thomas,  de  la  orden  de  Santo  Domingo,  morador  en 
dichos   reinos.      Impreso   en   Valladolid    por   Francisco    Fernandez   de 
Cordua.     Acabose  a  diez   dias  del  mez  de  Henero,  ano  1560,  Svo. ;  y, 
como  apendice :  Lexicon  6  Yocabulario  de  la  lengua  general  del  Peru, 
llamada  Quichua.     Valladolid,  1560. 

II.  Ricardo   (Antonio).      Arte  y  Yocabulario  de  la  lengua,   llamada 
quichua.     En  la  ciudad  de  los  Reyes,  1586,  Svo. 

III.  Ricardo  (Antonio).     Vocabulario   en   lengua   general  del   Peru, 
llamada  quichua  y  en  lengua  espanola.    En  la  ciudad  de  los  Reyes,  1586, 
Svo. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  105 

patriotic  and  learned  Peruvian  would  devote  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  Quichua  language,  and  seek  to  lay  the  founda 
tions  of  a  literature  in  an  idiom  so  beautiful  and  singular 
that  the  sons  of  the  ancient  monarchy  of  the  Incas  should 
not  blush  to  be  proud  of  it. 

The  ancient  Peruvians  had  two  kinds  of  writing  :  one,  and 
certainly  the  most  ancient,  consisted  in  a  species  of  hiero 
glyphic  characters ;  the  other,  in  knots  made  on  threads  of 
divers  colors.  The  hieroglyphics  of  the  Mexicans  were  very 
distinct,  and  graved  on  stone  or  metal.  In  Southern  Peru 
there  has  not  yet  been  discovered  any  vestige  of  hieroglyphics 

Pertenecen  estos  libros  a"  los  primeros  impresos  en  la  America  meridional. 

IY.  Torres  Rubio  (Diego  de).  Gramatica  y  Vocabulario  en  lengua 
general  del  Peru,  llamada  Quichua  y  en  lengua  espanola.  8vo.,  Sevilla, 
1603. 

V.  Martinez  (El  Padre  Maestro  Fray  Juan).     Yocabulario  en  la  lengua 
general  del  Peru, llamada  Quichua  yen  la  lengua  espanola.     En  los.Reyes, 
1604,  8vo. 

VI.  Holguin  (Diego  Gonzalez).    Gramatica  y  arte  nueva  de  la  lengua 
general  del  Peru,  llamada  quichua  6  lengua  del   Inca  (en  cuatro  libros  . 
Impreso  en  la  ciudad  de  los  Reyes  del  Peru  por  Francisco  del  Canto,  1607, 
4to. 

VII.  Holguin  (Diego  Gonzalez).     Vocabulario  de  la  lengua  general  de 
todo  el  Peru,  llamada  Quichua  6  del  Inga.    Los  Reyes  por  Francisco  del 
Canto.     1608,  4to.,  dos  partea  en  un  vol. 

VIII.  Arte  y  Vocabulario  en  la  leugua  general  del  Peru,  llamada 
Quichua  y  en  la  lengua  espanola.     Lima,  1614,  8vo.,  por  Francisco  del 
Canto. 

IX.  Huerta  (Don  Alonso  de).     Arte  de  la  lengua  quichua  general  de 
los  Indies  de  este  reyno  del  Peru.     Impreso  por  Francisco  del  Canto  en 
los  Reyes,  1616,  4to. 

X.  Torres  Rubio  (Diego  de)  segunda  edicion,  en  Lima  por  Francisco 
Lasso,  ano  de  1619,  8vo. 

XI.  Olmos  (Diego  de).  Grama'tica  de  la  lengua  indica,  Lima,  1633,  4to. 

XII.  Carrera  (Fernando  de,  cura  y  vicario  de  San  Martin  de  Reque 
en  el  corregimiento  de  Chiclayo).    Arte  de  la  lengua  yunga  de  los  valles 

5* 


106 


PERU. 


painted  on  paper ;  but  according  to  the  observations  of  Don 
Mariano  de  Rivero,  at  the  distance  of  eight  leagues  north  of 
Arequipa  there  exist  a  multitude  of  engravings  on  granite 
which  represent  figures  of  animals,  flowers,  and  fortifications, 
and  which  doubtless  tell  the  story  of  events  anterior  to  the 
dynasty  of  the  Incas. 


ENGRAVING   ON    ROCK,    EIGHT   LEAGUES   NORTH   OF   AREQUIPA. 

In  the  province  of  Castro-Vireyna,  in  the  town  of  Huay- 
tara,  there  is  found,  in  the  ruins  of  a  large  edifice,  of  similar 
construction  to  the  celebrated  palace  of  old  Huanuco,  a  mass 
of  granite,  many  square  yards  in  size,  with  coarse  engrav 
ings  like  those  last  mentioned  near  Arequipa.  None  of  the 
most  trustworthy  historians  allude  to  these  inscriptions  or 
representations,  or  give  the  smallest  direct  information  con- 
del  obispado  de  Truxillo ;  con  un  confesonario  y  todas  las  oraciones 
cotidianas  y  otras  cosas.  Lima  por  Juan  de  Contreras,  1644,  16mo. 

XIII.  Roxo  Mexia  y  Ocon  (Don  Juan,  natural  de  Cuzco).  Arte  de  la 
lengua  general  de  los  Indies  del  Peru.  En  Lima  por  Jorge  Lopez  de 
Herrera,  1648,  8vo. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  107 

cerning  the  Peruvian  hieroglyphics ;  from  which  it  may 
plausibly  be  inferred  that  in  the  times  of  the  Incas  there 
was  no  knowledge  of  the  art  of  writing  in  characters,  and 
that  all  these  sculptures  are  the  remains  of  a  very  remote 
period. 

Montesinos  is  the  only  one  who  tells  us  that  in  the  first 
centuries  after  the  conquest  of  Peru  by  the  Americans,  under 
the  reign  of  Huainacavi-Pirhua,  the  use  of  letters  was  known : 
but  that  it  was  lost  afterward,  under  the  reign  of  Titu,  son 
of  Titu  Yupanqui  Y.  But  we  know  how  little  confidence  is 
to  be  placed  in  the  statements  of  this  author. 

In  many  parts  of  Peru,  chiefly  in  situations  greatly  ele 
vated  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  are  vestiges  of  inscriptions 
very  much  obliterated  by  time.  The  drawing  below  repre 
sents  a  stone,  two  feet  broad,  which  Dr.  J.  D.  Yon  Tschudi 
found  in  an  ancient  settlement,  a  league  from  Huari. 


XIV.  Melgar  (Estevan  Sancho  de).     Arte  de  la  lengua  general  del 
Inga,  llamada  Qquecchua.     Lima  por  Diego  de  Lyra,  1691,  8vo. 

XV.  Torres  Rulio  (Diego  de,  de  la,  compania  de  Jesus)  tercera  edicion, 
y  nuevamente  van  anadidos  los  Romances,  el  catecismo  pequeno,  todas 
las  oraciones,  los  dias  de  fiesta  y  ayunos  de  los  Indios,  el  Vocabulario 


108 

In  the  last  century,  a  European  missionary  among  the 
Panos  who  dwell  on  the  banks  of  the  Ucayali,  found,  in  the 
pampas  of  Sacramento,  manuscripts,  on  a  species  of  paper 
made  of  the  leaf  of  the  plantain,  with  hieroglyphics  joined 
together,  as  well  as  in  simple  characters,  containing,  accord 
ing  to  the  statements  of  the  Indians,  the  history  of  the  events 
of  their  ancestors ;  but  it  remains  to  be  ascertained  whether 
they  referred  to  the  history  of  a  nation  who  came  from  the 
North  or  the  East,  to  the  mountains  of  Ucayali,  and  who 
brought  with  them  the  knowledge  of  this  writing,  or 
whether  it  is  a  vestige  of  ancient  civilization.* 

anadido  y  otro  Yocabulario  de  la  lengua  Chinchaysuyu  por  el  M.  R.  Juan 
de  Figueredo.  En  Lima  por  Joseph  de  jContreras,  1700,  8vo. 

XVI.  Torres  Rulio  (Diego  de)  cuarta  edicion.  Arte  y  Vocabulario  de 
la  lengua  quichua  general  de  los  Indies  del  Peru,  que  cornpuso  el  Padre 
Diego  de  Torres  Rubio  de  la  compania  de  Jesus,  y  anadio  el  P.  Juan  de 
Figueredo  de  la  misma  compania.  Ahora  nuevamente  corregido  y 
aumentado  en  muchos  vocablos  y  varias  advertencias,  notas  y  observa- 
ciones  para  la  mejor  inteligencia  del  Idioma  y  perfecta  instruccion  de  los 
Parochos  y  Cathequistas  de  los  Indies.  Por  un  religioso  de  la  misma 
compania.  Lima,  1754,  Svo. 

This  last  is  the  most  common,  and  many,  in  consequence  thereof,  con 
sider  it  as  the  most  ancient  grammar  which  they  can  obtain ;  while 
others,  principally  the  Grammar  and  Vocabulary  of  Antonio  Ricardo,  and 
those  of  Domingo  San  Thomas,  are  to  be  classed  among  bibliographical 
rarities. 

*  In  the  interior  of  South  America,  between  the  second  and  fourth 
degrees  of  North  latitude,  there  extends  a  plain  bounded  by  four  rivers, 
viz.,  the  Oronoco,  the  Atabasco,  the  Rio  Negro,  and  Casiquiare.  There 
are  found  on  it  rocks  of  granite  and  syenite,  equal  to  those  of  Caicara 
and  Uruana,  covered  with  symbolical  representations,  colossal  figures  of 
crocodiles,  tigers,  likenesses  of  houses,  and  signs  of  the  sun  and  moon. 
At  this  day  this  unfrequented  region  is  entirely  without  population  over  a 
space  of  five  hundred  square  miles.  The  neighboring  tribes,  exceedingly 
ignorant,  lead  a  miserable  vagrant  life,  and  are  not  capable  of  drawing 
hieroglyphics.  In  South  America,  a  belt  of  these  rocks,  thus  covered 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  109 

Under  the  reign  of  the  Incas,  in  place  of  characters,  the 
Peruvians  used  colored  threads,  knotted  in  different  modes, 
and  called  Qulppus. 

It  is  certain  that  this  method  of  writing  (if  so  it  may  be 
called)  was  not  original  in  Peru,  and  it  is  probable  that  it 
was  given  to  the  natives  by  the  first  Inca ;  since,  in  various 
parts  of  Central  Asia,  and  particularly  in  China,  it  was  the 
custom  from  a  very  remote  period  to  resort  to  these  knotted 
threads,  as  in  Peru,  Mexico  and  Canada. 

The  Peruvian  Quippus  are  of  twisted  wool,  and  consist  of 
a  string  or  large  cord  as  the  base  of  the  document,  and  of 
threads  more  or  less  fine,  which  are  fastened  by  knots  to  it. 
These  branches  (if  so  we  may  call  them)  include  the  con 
tents  of  the  Quippo,  expressed  either,  by  single  knots  or  by 
artificial  intert winings.  The  size  of  the  Quippus  is  very 
different ;  sometimes  the  base  cord  is  five  or  six  yards  long, 
at  others,  it  is  not  more  than  a  foot ;  the  pendant  strings  or 
branches  rarely  exceed  a  yard  in  length,  and,  in  general,  are 
shorter.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Lurin,  we  found  a  Quippo 
which  weighed  twelve  and  a  half  pounds,  and  we  doubt 
not  there  were  some  even  more  bulky  still.  To  give  some 
idea  of  the  strings  which  form  a  very  large  Quippo  that  we 
took  from  a  cemetery  of  the  natives  who  lived  about  Pacha- 
camac,  we  here  insert  the  drawing  of  a  fragment. 

with  symbolic  emblems,  may  be  followed  from  Rupunuri,  the  Essequibo, 
and  the  Pacaraima  mountains,  to  the  banks  of  the  Oronoco  and  the 
Yupura,  over  an  extent  of  more  than  eight  degrees  of  longitude.  These 
marks  thus  engraved  in  the  rocks,  may  belong  to  several  different  epochs, 
for  Sir  Robert  Schomberg  has  seen  on  the  Rio  Negro  a  delineation  of  a 
Spanish  ship,  which,  of  course,  must  be  of  later  origin  than  the  commence 
ment  of  the  sixteenth  century ;  and  this  in  a  savage  country,  where  the 
indigenous  stock  was  probably  quite  as  uncultivated  as  the  present  in 
habitants.— ^lumboldf s  Ansitchten  der  Natur.  3.  Ausgabe.  Bd.  I.  pag.  240, 
Views  of  Nature,  3d  edition,  Vol.  I.  p.  240. 


110 


PERU. 


PERUVIAN    QUIPPO. 

The  different  colors  of  the  threads  have  different  mean 
ings  :  thus,  the  red  signifies  a  soldier  or  war ;  the  yellow, 
gold ;  the  white,  silver  or  peace ;  the  green,  wheat  or  maize, 
&c.  In  the  arithmetical  system,  a  single  knot  means  ten ; 
two  single  knots  joined^  twenty  ;  a  knot  doubly  intertwined, 
one  hundred;  triply,  one  thousand;  two  of  the  last  united, 
two  thousand,  &c  !Nbt  only  is  the  color  and  mode  of  inter- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  Ill 

twining  the  knots  to  be  considered,  but  even  the  mode  of 
twisting  the  thread,  and  particularly  the  distance  of  the 
knot  from  the  junction  of  the  thread  with  the  base  cord,  are 
of  great  importance  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  Quippo. 
It  is  probable  that  these  knots  were,  at  first,  applied  to 
purposes  of  numeration  only,  but  in  the  course  of  time,  this 
science  was  so  much  perfected  that  those  skilled  in  it  at 
tained  to  the  art  of  expressing  by  knots  historical  relations, 
laws  and  decrees,  so  that  they  could  transmit  to  their  de 
scendants  the  most  striking  events  of  the  empire ;  and  thus 
the  Quippus  might  supply  the  place  of  documents  and 
chronicles.  The  registers  of  taxes ;  the  enrolment  of  tribes  ; 
distinguishing  between  the  tax-payers,  the  aged,  the  invalids, 
women  and  children  ;  the  lists  of  the  armies,  their  arms, 
soldiers,  officers  and  stations;  the  inventories  of  the  large 
quantities  of  wheat,  maize,  arms,  shoes  and  clothing  in  the 
public  magazines ;  the  registers  of  deaths  and  births ;  all 
these  matters  were  specified  with  admirable  exactitude  in  the 
Quippus.  In  every  city  of  any  note,  there  was  an  officer 
called  Quippu-camayoc,  whose  business  it  was,  at  all  times, 
to  knot  and  decipher  these  documents.  But  notwithstand 
ing  their  skill,  whenever  a  Quippu  came  from  a  distant 
province,  it  was  necessary  it  should  be  accompanied  by  a 
verbal  commentary,  sufficient,  at  least,  to  indicate  the  subject 
matter  of  which  it  treated ;  as,  for  instance,  whether  it  re 
lated  to  tribute,  or  the  enrolment  of  tribes,  &c.  To  mark 
the  events  of  their  respective  districts,  these  officials  had 
certain  signs  at  the  commencement  of  the  mother  thread,  or 
base  cord,  which  had  a  meaning  intelligible  to  them  only ; 
and  the  Quippus  which  related  to  the  same  subject  were  al 
ways  preserved  together  in  certain  repositories,  that  there 
might  be  no  risk  of  error  by  changing,  or  mixing  a  military 
Quippu  with  one  concerning  taxes,  &c. 


112  PERU. 

Even  at  this  day,  in.  the  country,  Quippus  are  used  for  the 
purpose  of  numeration.  Such  is  the  case  on  many  haciendas 
and  cattle  stations.  On  the  first  thread  or  branch,  the  herds 
men  commonly  place  the  bulls,  on  the  second  the  milch- 
cows,  on  the  third  those  which  are  dry,  and  afterward  fol 
low  the  calves,  according  to  age  and  sex.  So,  too,  as  to 
animals  producing  wool ;  they  are  arranged  in  various  sub 
divisions,  as  also  are  the  number  of  foxes  killed,  the  quan 
tity  of  salt  used,  and  the  specification  of  cattle  that  have 
died. 

Repeated  attempts  made  in  our  day  to  read  the  Quippus, 
have  proved  failures,  because  of  the  very  great  difficulty  of 
deciphering  them.  In  effect  each  single  knot  represents 
some  notion  or  thought,  while  there  is  wanting  (for  a  mean 
ing)  a  quantity  of  conjunctions  or  links.  Besides,  there  is 
another  and  greater  impediment  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
Quippus  found  in  the  Huacas;  and  that  is  the  want  of  a 
verbal  commentary  to  explain  the  subject  matter  of  the 
document ;  and  even  with  this  advantage,  it  would  still  re 
quire  the  aid  of  the  most  skilful  Quippu-camayoc.  We  think 
that  there  are  still,  in  the  southern  provinces  of  Peru,  Indians 
who  know  very  well  how  to  decipher  these  intricate  memo 
rials,  but  they  guard  their  knowledge  as  a  sacred  secret,  in 
herited  from  their  ancestors. 

The  opinion  of  the  Prince  of  San  Severo,  who  published 
in  Naples  a  memoir,  pretending  to  prove  that  the  knots  of 
the  Quippus  served  as  letters,  is  so  erroneous  as  not  to  merit 
refutation. 

Considering  this  defective  system  of  writing,  it  ought  not 
to  cause  surprise  that  the  Quichua  language  wants  an  ancient 
literature,  at  least,  any  that  is  intelligible  to  us.  And  even 
though  there  may  still  exist  a  possibility  of  forming  a 
national  literature  with  European  characters,  yet  even  this 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  113 

field  remains  sterile,  awaiting  the  culture  of  genius  and 
patriotism.  How  insufficient  are  the  translations  of  first 
lessons  in  the  Christian  religion,  made  by  the  missionaries, 
as  specimens  of  the  language  of  a  nation  having  such  a  his 
tory  as  Peru! 

A  system  of  subjugation,  and  of  colonization  wretchedly 
defective,  the  barbarism  of  the  epoch,  and  the  brutality  of 
the  conquering  adventurers,  have  made  shipwreck  of  im 
mense  treasures  which  were  found  deposited  in  an  idiom  so 
rich,  so  elegant,  so  flexible  and  harmonious. 

A  short  time  after  the  conquest,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Christian  doctrine 
was  translated  into  Quichua  by  the  Franciscan  friars ;  the 
Dominicans  who  came  with  the  first  conquerors,  moved  by 
religious  zeal,  were  not  occupied  in  converting  the  Indians 
by  force  of  the  Word  alone,  but,  with  fire  and  sword  as 
accompaniments,  preached  the  Gospel.  To  the  Jesuits 
belongs  the  merit  of  having  most  perfectly  elaborated  those 
translations  which  are  found,  as  an  appendix,  in  almost  every 
grammar  of  the  general  language.  We  here  present  speci 
mens  of  the  Quichuan  literature,  commencing  with  an  ele 
gant  translation  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  :  * 

*  We  transfer  these  specimens  to  a  note. — [TRANSLATOR.] 
LORD'S  PRATER  IN  THE  QUICHUAN  LANGUAGE. 

Yayacu  hanacpac  hacunapi  cac;  sutiyqui  muchhasoa  cachun  ;  ccapaccay- 
hiyqui  hocaycuman  ' hamuchun;  munayniyqui  rurasca  cachun;  imainam 
hanacpachapi:  hinalac,  cay  pachapipas  ;  ppunchaunincuna  ttantaycucta 
cunan  cohuaycu  /  hnchaycuctari  pampachapuhuaycu  imanam  nocaycupas, 
nocaycuman  huchallicuccunacta,  pawpachaycu  Tiina.  Amatac  cacharihuay- 
cvchu  huateccayman  urmanccaycupac  ;  yallinrac,  mana  allimantac  quespi- 
chiliuaycu.  Amen. 

We  have  in  our  possession  a  very  rare  book,  printed  in  1648,  entitled 
"  Sermons  on  the  Mysteries  of  our  holy  Catholic  Faith  in  the  Spanish  and 
general  Language  of  the  Inca ;  impugning  the  particular  errors  which  are 


114 


PERU. 


But  these  illustrations  of  the  language  (contained  in  the 
note)  are  but  fragments  little  adapted  to  convey  an  exact 
idea  of  the  grammatical  construction,  or  of  the  beauties  and 
peculiarities  of  this  interesting  idiom,  which  is  so  flexible 
that  translations  of  Greek  and  Latin  odes  have  been  made 
into  it  with  great  ease.  Unfortunately,  however,  these  speci 
mens  have  never  been  published. 

Among  all  civilized  nations,  poetry  was  the  earliest  form 


held  by  the  Indians ;  by  Doctor  DON  FERNANDO  DE  AVENDA.NO." 
these  we  give  some  passages,  with  a  translation : 


From 


Cai  checcan  simi  yachachisccai- 
mantam,  machuiquichiccunap  llodla 
pachacuti,  Dilubiohisccaminta  pacha, 
runacunap  paccarinacunamanta  his- 
cancuna  llullu  simi  casccanta  unan- 
chanquichic. 

Hue  tnachucunam  ari  nincuha 
llodla  pachacuti  yalliptinmi  hanacc- 
pachamanta  quimga  runtu  urmamu- 
r ocean,  naupacc  hinmi  ccori  runtu 
carccan  ',  cai  ccori  runtumantam 
curacacuna  paccarimurccan.  Iscay- 
lieqquenmi  coHqqueruntu  carccan, 
caimantam  nustacuna  yurimurccan. 
Quimzaneqquenmi  ccana  anta  runtu 
carccan,  caimantatacmi  huaquin 
yancca  runacuna  llocgimurccan.  Cai- 
hinam  hue  machuiquichiccuna  ri- 
mancu.  Cunan  tapuscayquichic 
churicuna ;  curacacuna  chiu  chichu 
ccori  runtumanta  paccarimunancu- 
pacc  ?  Manachu  caita  rimay  agiccui- 
pacc  cascanta  ricunquichic  ? 

[Other  passages  are  presented  in  the  work  we  are  translating;  but  as 
they  are  mere  specimens  of  the  Quichua  language,,  the  foregoing  will 
suffice  for  the  English  reader.— TRANSLATOR.] 


This  truth  which  I  have  taught 
you,  makes  you  to  see  that  those 
things  are  fables  which  your  old 
men  have  told  you,  of  the  origin 
of  men  after  the  deluge. 

Some  old  men  say,  that  after  the 
deluge  there  fell  three  eggs  from 
heaven ;  one  of  gold,  from  which 
the  Curacas  were  born ;  another  of 
silver,  out  of  which  were  born  the 
Nustas ;  and  another  of  copper,  from 
which  came  these  last  Indians. 
Tell  me,  my  children,  are  the  Cura 
cas  chickens,  seeing  they  came  out 
of  an  egg  of  gold  ?  Can  you  not 
see  that  the  whole  story  is  a  thing 
to  be  laughed  at  ? 


PEKUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  115 

of  literature ;  and  before  they  found  characters  to  perpetuate 
their  annals  and  productions,  they  preserved  in  verses  the 
acts  of  their  ancestors,  and  the*  current  of  their  thoughts. 
In  all  the  Indian  languages,  even  the  most  barbarous,  vesti 
ges  of  this  literature  are  found,  and  it  is  worthy  of  ndte  that 
triumphal  songs,  and  songs  of  war,  are  the  most  ancient 
poetical  productions  of  the  American  nations.  Of  the 
ancient  Peruvian  poetry  but  few  remains  have  come  to  our 
knowledge,  although  among  the  Indians  are  preserved  many 
beautiful  songs  of  past  times,  and  worthy  of  being  gathered 
into  a  printed  collection. 

The  amautas,  or  philosophers,  were  the  poets  who  composed 
festive  songs,  comedies  and  tragedies;  and  the  Ilaravicus 
(inventors)  formed  another  class  of  poets  who  composed 
elegiac  verses.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  poetry  reached 
a  certain  degree  of  perfection,  by  using  in  the  amorous 
songs  either  four-syllable  verses  only,  or  by  alternating  them 
with  trisyllabic  lines;  in  the  triumphal  songs,  six-syllable 
verse,  or  the  less  roundelay,  was  used  ;  in  the  comedies,  and 
in  the  larger  part  of  the  Haravis,  the  greater  roundelay,  or 
eight-syllable  verse,  was  used.  In  all  these  forms  of  verse, 
rhyme  may  or  may  not  be  used. 

The  Haravis,  or  elegiac  songs,  forrn  the  most  interesting 
part  of  the  Quichuan  poetry ;  the  subject  is  usually  un 
happy  love,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  which  most  to  admire  in 
them,  the  harmonious  mechanical  composition,  or  the  expres 
sion  of  the  effects  of  despairing,  overwhelming  grief. 

It  would  seem  that  dramatic  poetry  was  highly  esteemed 
and  much  cultivated  in  the  time  of  the  Incas.  According 
to  Garcilasso,  those  of  the  Inca  lineage,  and  others  of  noble 
blood,  were  accustomed,  on  solemn  days  and  festivals,  to  act 
comedies  and  tragedies  before  the  monarch  and  the  nobility 
at  court.  The  subjects  of  the  tragedies  were  military 


116  PERU. 

achievements,  triumphs  and  victories,  the  exploits  and  gran 
deur  of  former  kings  and  other  heroic  men :  the  topics  of 
the  comedies  were  derived  irom  agriculture,  from  the  farm, 
and  familiar  household  affairs.  To  such  performers  as  dis 
tinguished  themselves  presents  were  made  of  jewels  and 
gifts  of  value.  Happily,  we  have  one  specimen  of  this  spe 
cies  of  composition,  consisting  of  a  tragic  drama  in  three 
acts,  which  we  consider  the  most  important  literary  produc 
tion  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  American  languages.  We 
know  nothing  with  certainty  of  its  author,  nor  of  the  period 
of  its  production  ;  and  it  does  not  appear  certain  whether  it 
has  descended  to  us  by  tradition  from  the  times  of  the  Incas, 
or  whether  it  is  the  work  of  a  more  modern  genius.  Some 
believe  that  it  was  composed  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  represented  in  the  plaza  of  Cuzco,  before  the 
Incas ;  others,  on  the  contrary,  think  that  it  is  the  work  of  a 
skilful  author  of  a  more  recent  date.  '  The  first  of  these 
opinions  has  many  circumstances  in  its  support,  since  the 
language  of  the  piece  is  not  as  corrupt  as  it  was  in  the  later 
periods  of  its  use  :  a  few  Castilian  words  found  in  the  exist 
ing  copy,  and  certain  unskilful  phrases,  are  easily  seen  to 
have  been  made  or  added  by  copyists.  It  is,  however,  cer 
tain  that  copies  of  this  work,  written  in  the  sixteenth  or 
seventeenth  century,  are  preserved  in  various  private  libra 
ries  of  Cuzco. 

This  drama  bears  the  title  of  Ollanta,  or  the  Severity  of  a 
Father  and  the  Generosity  of  a  King.  The  first  act  is  laid  at 
the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  other  two  cover  the 
first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  the  fifteenth.  The  hero  of  the 
piece  issthe  celebrated  chief  Ollanta,  whose  name  is  still  pre 
served  in  a  bridge,  a  fortress  and  a  palace,  and  whose  deeds 
are  to  this  day  well  known  among  the  Indians  of  Peru. 
His  love  for  Cusi  Coyllur,  daughter  of  the  Inca  Pachacutec, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  117 

the  harshness  of  this  monarch  toward  his  child,  her  im 
prisonment,  the  rebellion  of  Ollanta,  with  its  success  at  first, 
his  final  ruin  and  subjection  by  Kumiriahui,  the  general  of 
the  Inca  Yupanqui,  son  of  Pachacutec,  and  the  generosity  of 
this  Inca  toward  Ollanta  and  Cusi  Coyllur,  form  the  sub 
stance  of  the  drama,  which  is  written  in  a  masterly  manner.* 

The  Quichua  language  has  various  dialects  strongly  mark 
ed.  In  the  north  is  the  Quiteno,  the  most  impure,  full  of 
words  of  other  idioms,  and  with  very  corrupt  grammatical 
forms  ;  the  Lamana,  spoken  in  various  parts  of  the  depart 
ment  of  Libertad  ;  the  Yunca,  in  the  bishopric  of  Truxillo  ; 
the  Chinchaysuyu,  in  the  department  of  Cerro  de  Pasco  ;  the 
Caiiqui,  in  the  province  of  Yauyos ;  the  Calchaqui,  in  Tucu- 
man  ;  the  Ciisgiieno,  in  the  departments  of  the  south.  This 
last  named  is  the  pure  Quichua,  which  alone  should  be  taken 
as  the  standard  by  the  student. 

The  Aymara  language,  spoken  in  Bolivia,  is  very  much 
like  the  Quichua,  and  doubtless  came  from  the  same  root. 
Very  many  words  in  the  tw£>  idioms  are  identical,  and  even 
in  the  grammatical  structure  there  is  a  very  striking  resem 
blance.  The  German  Jesuit,  W.  Bayer,  published,  in  the 
Aymara  and  Latin  languages,  a  sermon  on  the  passion  of 
our  Lord,  which  was  printed  in  one  of  the  scientific  periodi 
cals  of  Germany,  f 

The  Puquina  language,  spoken  in  some  of  the  valleys  of 
the  coast,  and  also  of  the  mountains  of  Peru,  is  radically 
different  from  all  the  rest,  and  indeed  has  no  affinity  with 
any  other  American  idiom. 

According  to  Garcilasso,  tne  Incas  had  a  private  language 

*  Dr.  Von  Tschudi,  in  his  work  on  the  Quichua  language,  has  given  at 
length  this  curious  literary  production. 

t  Murr  Journal  fur  Kunst  und  Literatur.  Vol.  I.,  pp.  112 — 121 ;  Vol. 
II.,  pp.  297—334 ;  VoL  III.,  pp.  55—100. 


118  PERU. 

which  no  one  save  those  belonging  to  the  royal  lineage  dared 
to  learn.  Unhappily,  we  are  without  data  on  which  to  form 
an  opinion  about  it. 

We  hope  that  the  preceding  observations  will  serve  to 
stimulate  the  zeal  of  the  Peruvians,  and  lead  them  to  culti 
vate  the  beautiful  primitive  language  of  their  native  land,  by 
establishing  in  their  colleges  chairs  devoted  to  instruction 
in  it. 

NOTE. 


*  Walter  Raleigh,  in  the  description  of  his  voyage  to  Guiana,  (foL  97 


NOTE. 


THERE  is,  we  think,  much  in  this  chapter  calling  for  remark,  not  to  say 
correction.  We  are  constrained  to  believe  our  author  did  not  possess  the 
latest  sources  of  information  as  to  the  languages  of  North  America  par 
ticularly.  In  Speaking  of  the  radical  languages,  he  copies  the  statement 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  probably  had  never  studied  one  of  them,  and  who, 
at  any  rate,  was  exceedingly  inaccurate,  as  the  labors  of  subsequent 
philologists,  like  Pickering  and  G-allatin,  have  shown. 

In  fact,  he  who  has  studied  most  carefully  our  American  languages, 
will  be  most  cautious  in  making  general  conclusions.  A  scholar  now 
engaged  upon  them,  (Professor  William  W.  Turner)  and  who,  at  least  in 
the  view  of  the  present  writer,  has  probably  no  equal,  certainly  no  supe 
rior  in  this  department  of  letters,  would  have  told  our  author  that  the 
materials  are  as  yet  too  scanty  to  justify  sweeping,  general  assertions ; 
while  such  a  declaration  from  such  a  source  would  have  been  quite 
enough  for  every  American  philologist,  who  has  seen  the  recent  publica 
tion  of  Mr.  Riggs'  Grammar  and  Dictionary  of  the  Dakota  language,  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institute,  and  knows  the  part  which  Mr.  Turner  bore  in 
its  preparation. 

What  is  said  in  the  text  must  be  taken  with  large  allowances.  It  is 
not  true  that  all  the  languages  of  North  and  South  America  are  charac 
terized  by  what  Duponceau  called  polisyntheticism.  Mr.  Gallatin  has 
already  stated  that  the  Otomi  and  others  are  not  so ;  and  some  of  the 
best  of  our  philologists  entertain  more  thaa  a  suspicion  that  future  inves 
tigations  are  likely,  from  present  indications,  to  show  that  such  a  charac 
teristic  is  not  universal,  though  it  doubtless  exists  in  many  instances. 

Neither  are  we  prepared,  after  some  study  of  the  South  American 
languages,  to  admit  that  four-fifths  of  them  are  radically  different.  Tested 
both  grammatically  and  lexically,  such  has  not  proved  to  us  to  be  the 
case.  The  fact  is,  that  the  number  of  families  into  which  the  South 

(119) 


120  PERU. 

American  idioms  may  be  resolved,  is  small ;  smaller,  indeed,  than  in 
North  America ;  and  one  single  language,  the  Guarani,  is  the  root  of  a 
very  large  number,  spread  over  a  very  large  surface.  We  believe  we 
speak  the  opinion  of  the  best  American  philologists  when  we  say  that, 
the  further  researches  are  made,  the  more  do  we  reach  the  probability 
that  here,  as  in  the  other  hemisphere,  a  comparatively  few  parent 
tongues  will  finally  be  found  to  have  furnished  in  their  offshoots  the 
various  dialects  of  both  North  and  South  America.  But,  as  has  already 
been  intimated,  the  want  of  sufficient  material  compels  the  candid 
ethnologist  to  suspend  his  judgment. 

There  is  to  the  present  writer  something  extraordinary  in  the  asser 
tion  of  the  text  that  among  eight  or  nine  thousand  American  words, 
there  is  but  one  to  be  found  "'  analogous  in  sense  and  sound  to  a  word  of 
any  idiom  of  the  ancient  continent ;';  and  that  in  two-fifths  of  these 
eight  or  nine  thousand,  "  it  was  necessary  to  violate  the  sound  to  find 
the  same  meaning."  We  are  quite  sure  that  if  the  examination  be  made 
by  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  canons  of  comparative  philology,  a 
very  different  result  will  appear.  The  resemblances  may  not  justify,  in 
deed,  a  general  conclusion  of  common  origin,  but  they  are  more  numer 
ous  than  our  author  represents. 

.  As  to  the  word  inti,  which  our  author  states  "  unquestionably  derives 
its  origin  from  the  Sanscrit  root  Indh}  to  shine,"  &c.,  and  which  he  de 
clares  to  be  "  identical  with  the  East  India  word  Indra,  the  sun,''  we 
know  not  whether  this  foe  the  one  word  to  which  he  alludes,  but  we  do 
know  that  it  is  not  "identical;"  and  further,  that  when  he  says  it  was  a 
word  that  belonged  to  the  secret  vocabulary  of  the  Incas,  he  states 
that  of  which  neither  he  nor  any  man  living  can  speak  with  absolute 
certainty.  Where  at  this  day  is  the  secret  language  of  the  Incas  to 
be  found?  He  himself  states  that  "  unhappily  we  are  without  data  on 
which  to  form  an  opinion  about  it." 

As  to  the  remarks  of  our  author  on  the  grammatical  structure  of  the 
Quichua  and  Moxa  languages,  according  to  the  grammars  in  our  posses 
sion,  they  are  in  general  correct.  The  singularity  to  which  he  alludes, 
of  these  languages  (which  we  believe  to  belong  to  different  families) 
being  spoken  by  two  neighboring  nations,  while  beyond  the  Moxas,  the 
Quichua  was  again  found  in  another  tribe,  is  one  that  is  seen  more  than 
once  in  our  American  languages.  Yelasco  states  that  the  Peruvians  found 
the  Quichua,  or  a  dialect  of  it,  spoken  at  Quito,  when  they  conquered 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  121 

it,  although  it  was  generally  unknown  in  the  intermediate  country ;  and 
Mr.  Prescott  remarks  on  it  as  a  singular  fact  if  true.  (Conq.  of  Peru, 
Vol.  I.  p.  124,  note.)  It  is,  we  think,  probably  true ;  several  such  in 
stances  occur.  Mr.  Turner  has  recently  discovered,  for  instance,  that  the 
language  of  our  Apaches  belongs  to  that  of  the  Althapascas.  Parallel 
cases  have  been  met  with  in  the  Eastern  hemisphere. 

The  verb  is  not,  as  our  author  states,  uniform  in  possessing  the  pecu 
liarities  which  he  describes  as  belonging  to  all  our  languages.  They  are 
found  in  some  only.  Neither  is  he  correct  in  supposing  that  the  "  inclu 
sive  and  exclusive  "  plural  are  universal,  nor  that  all  our  languages  have 
a  dual  number. 

As  to  writing,  we  are  not  aware  that  the  "  Hurons,  Iroquois  and 
Indians  of  Louisiana  "  ever  had  anciently  a  system  of  undecipherable 
hieroglyphics ;  which  our  author  seems  to  think  is  now  lost.  They  had, 
and  still  have,  the  usual  rude  pictorial  representations  of  most,  if  not  all, 
of  our  North  American  tribes;  and  they  are  by  no  means  undecipher 
able  to  an  Indian.  Our  author  imputes  the  want  of  a  literature  among 
our  natives  to  the  absence  of  representative  characters ;  by  which  we 
suppose  he  means  an  alphabet.  We  are  not  sure  that  there  are  not 
alphabetic  characters  on  some  of  our  Central  American  monuments; 
but  we  leave  the  result  of  our  researches  on  that  head  to  the  larger  work 
to  which  we  kave  alluded  in  our  prefatory  note.  Our  author  himself 
refers  to  the  Panoes,  and  from  his  statement  it  might  be  inferred  that  they 
possessed  an  alphabet,  for  he  speaks  of  "  single  characters."  Few  sub 
jects  have  more  interested  American  antiquarians  than  these  writings 
among  the  Panoes.  These  were  a  tribe  of  Indians  who  lived  on  the 
Ucayali  River,  and  a  short  time  before  Baron  Humboldt  was  there,  a 
Franciscan  missionary,  as  Humboldt  states,  found  among  them  bundles 
of  their  paper  resembling  our  volumes  in  quarto,  and  an  old  man,  sitting 
at  the  foot  of  a  palm-tree,  read  from  one  to  several  young  persons  sitting 
around  him.  They  were  very  reluctant  to  permit  the  white  man  even  to 
approach,  but  at  length  he  succeeded  in  procuring  one  of  the  books,  which 
he  sent  to  Lima.  What  became  of  it  does  not  appear.  We  are  disposed 
to  think,  from  Humboldt's  account,  that  the  leaves  contained  paintings; 
perhaps  there  were  also  alphabetic  characters. 

As  to  the  Cherokee  language,  and  the  alphabet  formed  by  the  native 
Sequoiali  or  Guess,  as  he  is  called,  it  must  be  recollected  that  this  very 
clever  Indian  did  not  so  much  invent  as  apply  what  was  already  known.  His 

6 


122  PERU. 

first  effort  was  prompted  by  the  fact  he  had  observed,  that  the  English  or 
Anglo-Americans  about  him  could  express  the  sounds  of  their  speech  by 
written  marks;  he  accordingly  tried  (in  conformity  with  the  Chinese 
mode,  by  the  way)  to  make  a  distinct  character  for  each  Cherokee  word. 
This,  however,  required  so  many  different  characters  that  he  soon  aban 
doned  the  plan ;  and  then,  with  singular  ingenuity,  he  devoted  himself  to 
a  minute  observation  of  the  various  sounds  employed  in  the  Cherokee, 
and  found  that  they  amounted  to  but  eighty-five.  This  was  not  an 
unmanageable  number,  and  he  readily  made  a  mark  to  express  each  one  of 
these  sounds :  nearly  all  of  his  marks,  however,  were  adopted  from  forms 
supplied  by  our  alphabet.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  what  he  made  was  a 
syllabic  alphabet  of  eighty-five  sounds,  each  represented  by  its  own 
character.  Now,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  Cherokee  possesses  a 
peculiarity,  but  for  which  G-uess  could  not  have  made  his  alphabet.  It 
has  very  few  double  consonants  in  it,  and,  as  in  the  Polynesian  languages, 
every  syllable  terminates  in  a  vocal  sound.  Sequoiah,  doubtless,  in  what  he 
did,  manifested  unusual  cleverness  for  one  of  his  race,  but  we  have  not 
been  accustomed  to  call  him,  as  our  author  does,  "  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  men  of  America." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

SCIENTIFIC    CULTURE    UNDER   THE  DYNASTY   OF  THE  INCAS. 

THE  political  institutions  and  the  imperfect  means  used  to 
supply  the  art  of  writing,  were  two  powerful  obstacles  which 
impeded  all  scientific  progress  among  the  ancient  Peruvians. 

As  we  have  already  seen  in  the  fourth  chapter,  the  stems 
of  tne  royal  stock  only  fully  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  edu 
cation  ;  while,  supported  by  a  humiliating  protection,  the 
common  masses  were  denied  an  entrance  into  the  sanctuary 
of  science,  obliged  to  follow  the  profession  of  their  fathers, 
to  prevent  them  from  becoming  proud  and  dazzled  by  the 
light  of  truth,  and  from  refusing  obedience  to  the  constituted 
authorities. 

There  prevailed,  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Incas,  the  system 
of  increasing  the  importance  of  the  empire,  more  by  extend 
ing  the  territory  than  by  an  increase  of  the  intellectual 
culture  of  the  inhabitants  ;  military  tactics  were  among  them 
the  chief  object  of  education.  For  this  purpose,  there  were 
in  Cuzco  and  other  principal  cities,  academies  under  the 
superintendence  or  direction  .of  ancient  Incas,  to  instruct  the 
young  disciples  in  all  military  and  knightly  exercises,  as  well 
theoretical  as  practical,  and  from  them  came  the  chiefs  for 
the  different  armies. 

The  representatives  of  the  other  sciences  did  not  belong 
to  the  priesthood,  as  in  Europe  during  the  barbarous  centu 
ries  of  the  Middle  Age,  but  formed  the  separate  class  of  the 
Amautas  or  sages  who  lived  in  those  establishments  of  learn- 

(123) 


124:  PEEU. 

ing  (Yachahuasi),  in  which  the  pupils  were  under  the 
severest  inspection,  instructing  them  in  the  deeds  of  their 
forefathers ;  explaining  to  them  the  laws  and  principles  of 
the  art  of  governing ;  teaching  them  astronomy,  arithmetic, 
and  the  art  of  the  Quippus,  and  initiating  them  in  the  myste 
ries  of  religion.  Some  of  the  Incas,  particularly  Inca-Kocca, 
Pachacutec,  and  Tupa-Yupanqui,  favored  these  schools  to 
such  an  extent,  that  they  ordered  to  be  constructed  in  their 
immediate  neighborhood  sumptuous  palaces ;  as  in  Cuzco,  that 
of  Cora-Cora  and  of  Casana,  that  they  might  visit  the 
schools  with  the  greater  facility,  and,  according  to  Garci- 
lasso,  to  them  the  Inca  Pachacutec  resorted  to  compile  his 
laws  and  statutes. 

"We  will  now  examine  the  intellectual  character  of  the 
Peruvians,  under  a  scientific  aspect,  and  the  knowledge 
which  the  Amautas  had  treasured  up,  and  which  they  trans 
mitted  to  their  pupils. 

Of  all  the  branches  which  compose  abstract  philosophy, 
the  only  one  which  was  cultivated  was  the  moral  duties 
arising  from  religious  belief.  It  does  not  appear  that  they 
devoted  themselves  to  the  deep  and  thorny  branch  of  meta 
physics,  nor  did  they  permit  their  pupils  to  inquire  into 
what  they  maintained  as  theocracy  ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
their  knowledge  was  limited  to  the  scanty  and  confused 
ideas  supplied  to  them  by  the  priesthood. 

Neither  did  they  excel  in  jurisprudence.  The  simplicity 
of  the  Peruvian  code  required  few  commentaries,  the  judges 
were  obliged  to  determine  all  law-suits  in  less  than  five 
days ;  the  penal  laws  were  similar  to  those  in  Europe,  the 
military  laws  short  and  sanguinary,  penal  justice  was  rapid 
and  implacable,  after  the  Turkish  manner,  nay,  more  than 
this,  at  times  arbitrary. 

The  medical  art  pertained  also  in  part  to  the  sphere  of 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  125 

the  Amautas,  from,  whom  came  such  of  the  faculty  as  had 
in  charge  the  person  of  the  Inca.  Where  the  common  masses 
were  concerned,  they  consulted  for  their  rare  and  slight  mala 
dies  their  herbalists  and  old  women.  In  either  case  the 
curative  knowledge  was  a  quackery  and  limited,  and  they 
endeavored  to  mitigate  the  most  alarming  symptoms  of  the 
malady  without  any  nosological  or  thereapeutic  system.  Of 
all  the  means  of  discovery  used  by  our  physicians  to  form  a 
diagnosis,  they  knew  of  but  one,  i.  ev  the  state  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  tongue.  If  this  presented  a  white 
or  yellow  appearance,  they  supposed  the  existence  of  gastric 
difficulties,  and  had  recourse  to  one  of  their  universal  medi 
cines,  i.  e.,  the  root  of  the  Huachancana,  a  plant  of  the  family 
*of  the  Euphorbia,  whose  drastic  and  emetical  effect  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  tartar-emetic.  Studying  the  medicinal 
herbs,  which  are  at  present  used  among  the  Indians,  without 
consultingjphysicians,  but  looking  to  their  ailments,  an  accu 
rate  knowledge  of  the  pharmacy  of  the  ancient  Peruvians 
may  be  obtained,  as  the  medicaments,  with  their  beneficial 
effects,  have  passed  from  generation  to  generation.  Thus,  in 
this  day,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Incas,  they  use  the  Peruvian 
bark,  the  Checasoconche,  the  Chenchelcome,  the  Chillca,  the 
Chinapaya,  the  Chucumpu,  the  Huacra-huacra,  the  Huari- 
turu  (Valeriana  Coarctota),  the  Llamapnahui  (Negretia-in- 
flexa),  the  Maprato  or  Ratafia  (Krameria-triandria),  the  Masca, 
the  Mated lu,  the  Moho-moho,  the  Mulli,  the  Parhataquia 
(Holina-prostratd),  the  Panqui,  the  Tasta,  and  many  other 
medicinal  plants.  They  also  used  balsams  ;  also  a  piece  of 
the  navel-string  of  a  child,  which  they  deemed  an  efficacious 
remedy  in  many  of  the  diseases  of  children ;  the  skull  of 
the  Anta,  or  great  beast  (lapirus  Americanus),  against  the 
gutta  rosacca* 

*  Even  at  the  present  day,  the  Camatas  Indians  traverse  almost  every 


126  PERU. 

The  Amautas  had  begun  to  learn  that  in  certain  cases  it 
was  necessary  to  diminish  the  quantity  of  blood  in  the 
human  frame,  and  to  this  effect  they  practised  bleeding,  but 
always  in  the  vicinity  of  the 'diseased  part.  The  instrument 
which  they  employed  was  a  small  stone,  very  sharp,  fastened 
in  a  cleft  stick ;  this  they  placed  over  the  vein,  which,  by 
means  of  a  slight  blow,  they  opened,  producing  a  flow  of 
blood,  which,  more  than  our  mode  of  bleeding,  was  similar 
to  local  depletion,  or  to  scarifying  and  cupping. 

The  chirurgical  operator  was  entirely  unknown  to  the 
Peruvian  faculty.  Wounds,  bruises,  contusions,  in  one  word, 
all  external  hurts  were  cured  with  balsams  and  medicinal 
leaves,  without  the  least  idea  of  the  amputation  of  limbs, 
the  opening  of  abscesse's  with  cutting  instruments,  the 
sewing  up  of  serious  wounds,  the  application  of  fire,  or  many 
other  chirurgical  operations  practised  in  Europe.  The  frac 
ture  of  bones  was  cured,  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  with 
an  herb  called  Huarituru  ;  and  on  the  coast  by  wrapping  the 
fractured  limb  up  in  several  species  of  marine  plants.  The 
branch  of  obstetrics  was  not  practised  by  the  faculty ;  the 
ancient  matrons  assisted  women  in  that  critical  situation. 

The  knowledge  of  the  Amautas  in  mathematical  sciences 
was  almost  nothing.  Notwithstanding  their  excellent  system 
of  numeration,  the  graphic  process  of  the  Quippus  was  so 
rudimental  and  insufficient  that  none  could  go  much  beyond 
the  first  elements  of  arithmetic.  Neither  did  they  know 
theoretical  geometry,  although  they  were  obliged  to  make 
a  frequent  use  of  the  application  of  it,  in  that  which  con 
cerned  their  own  extensive  territory,  which  they  represented 
by  means  of  maps,  with  protuberances,  indicating  limits  and 

year  Southern  America  with  collections  of  medicines,  from  their  moun 
tains,  which  they  sell  at  high  prices. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  127 

localities ;  also  in  the  distribution  of  lands,  in  stone -cutting, 
and,  finally,  in  their  admirable  architecture,  resolving  very 
difficult  problems  with  the  grea&st  ease  and  most  perfect 
exactitude. 

In  spite  of  the  boasted  relation  of  their  monarchs  to  the 
Sun,  the  Peruvians  had  made  but  small  progress  in  astron 
omy,  and  in  this  respect  the  Amautas  were  very  inferior  to 
the  Mexican  priesthood.  The  almost  total  want  of  mathe 
matical  knowledge  did  not  permit  them  to  deduce  by  calcu 
lation  the  annual  movements  of  the  sun,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  resort  to  mechanical  means  in  order  to  determine 
the  principal  variations  of  its  course,  by  the  aid  of  which 
they  fixed  the  times  of  the  solstices  and  the  equinoxes.  The 
method  by  which  they  discovered  the  exact  time  of  the 
solstices  is  described  by  Garcilasso  (Comment.  I.,  Book  II., 
Chap.  XXII.)  in  the  following  manner  :— 

uThe  times  of  Summer  and  Winter  solstices  they  deter 
mined  by  the  large  characters  of  Eight  Towers,  which  they 
had  erected  to  the  east,  and  as  many  to  the  west,  .of  the 
city,  Cuzco  ;  being  ranked  four  and  four  in  several  positions, 
those  two  in  the  middle  being  higher  than  the  other  two  at 
each  end,  and  were  built  much  in  the  form  of  the  watch- 
towers  in  Spain :  when  the  sun  came  to  rise  exactly  opposite 
to  four  of  these  towers,  which  were  to  the  east  of  the  city, 
and  to  set  just  against  those  in  the  west,  it  was  then  the 
summer  solstice ;  and  in  like  manner  when  it  came  to  rise 
and  set  just  with  the  other  four  towers  on  each  side  of  the 
city,  it  was  then  the  winter  solstice." 

As  the  same  author  relates,  "  to  denote  the  precise  day  of 
the  equinoctial  they  had  erected  pillars  of  the  finest  marble  in 
the  open  area  before  the  temple  of  the  sun,  which,  when  the 
sun  came  near  the  time,  the  priests  daily  watched  and 
attended  to  observe  what  shadow  the  pillars  cast ;  and  to 


128  PEKU. 

make  it  more  exact,  they  fixed  on  them  a  gnomon  like  the 
pin  of  a  dial,  so  that  so  soon  as  the  sun  at  its  rising  came  to 
dart  a  direct  shadow  by  it,%nd  that  at  its  height,  or  mid-day, 
the  pillar  made  no  shade,  they  then  concluded  that  the  sun 
was  entered  the  equinoctial  line,  at  which  time  they  adorn 
ed  these  pillars  with  garlands  and  odoriferous  herbs,  and 
placed  upon  them  the  seat  or  chair  of  the  sun,  saying  that 
on  that  day  he  appeared  in  his  most  glittering  throne  and 
majesty,  and  therefore  made  their  offerings  of  gold  and  sil 
ver,  and  precious  stones,  to  him  with  all  the  solemnities  of 
ostentation  and  joy  usual  at  such  festivals.  Thus  the  Incas 
and  Amautas  having  observed  that  when  the  sun  came  to  the 
equinoctial  these  pillars  made  little  shadow  at  noon-day,  and 
that  those  in  the  city  of  Quito  and  those  of  the  same  degree 
to  the  sea-coast  made  none  at  all,  because  the  sun  is  then  per 
pendicularly  over  them,  they  concluded  that  the  position  of 
those  countries  was  more  agreeable  and  pleasing  to  the  suri 
than  those  on  vhich,  in  an  oblique  manner  only,  he  darted 
the  brightness  of  his  rays."* 

The  Amautas  noted  the  movements  of  Venus,  the  only 
planet  which  attracted  their  attention,  and  which  they  venera- 
rated  as  a  page  of  the  sun.  They  knew  some  few  of  the  con 
stellations,  such  as  the  Hyades,  which  they  called  Ahuaraca- 
qui,  or  jaw-bone  of  the  tapir,  and  the  Plyades,  Oncoy  Coyllur. 
As  all  the  nations  were  not  versed  in  the  course  of  the  heaven 
ly  bodies,  they  were  frightened  at  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  principally  at  those  of  the  latter  planet,  believing  that  it 
threatened  to  burst  or  explode  upon  the  earth ;  and  to  avoid 

*  We  have  here  followed  the  old  translation  of  G-arcilasso  by  Sir  Paul 
Rycaud,  which,  though  far  from  literal  and  often  inaccurate,  yet  in  this 
instance  conveys  the  meaning  of  the  original  with  sufficient  distinctness 
to  make  it  intelligible,  and  with  more  brevity  than  was  possible  in  a  literal 
1  translation. — [TRANSLATOR.] 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  129 

the  danger,  they  broke  forth  in  a  frightful  shouting,  endeavor 
ing  to  make  all  the  noise  possible  from  the  time  that  the  eclipse 
began,  with  instruments  of  all  descriptions,  also  beating  the 
dogs  to  make  them  howl  and  augment  the  general  confusion. 

The  phases  of  the  moon  (Quilla)  they  explained  by  say 
ing  that  the  planet  was  sick  when  it  began  to  decrease,  and 
for  this  reason  they  called  the  decline  huanuc-quilla,  or  dying 
moon  :  they  gave  the  name  of  mosoc-quiUa  to  the  new  moon  ; 
to  the  crescent,  puca-quilla,  or  colored  moon,  and  quilla- 
huanuy,  or  dead  moon,  to  the  moon  in  conjunction.  The 
entire  lunation  they  divided  into  four  equal  quarters,  begin 
ning  always  with  the  first  day  of  the  new  moon :  thus  the 
first  section  or  period  lasted  until  the  day  of  the  fourth 
crescent,  the  second  until  the  opposition,  the  third  until  the 
fourth  decline,  and  the  fourth  until  the  conjunction.  They 
counted  the  months  by  moons,  but  the  year  from  one  winter 
solstice  to  another ;  this  they  subdivided  into  twelve  equal 
parts,  forming  thus  a  solar  year,  by  which  they  regulated 
their  husbandry.  The  time  which  remained  from  the  end 
of  the  lunar  year  until  the  completion  of  the  solar  was 
called  puchuc-quttla,  or  residue  of  the  moon,  and  was  devoted 
to  leisure.  They  distributed  the  solar  year  into  four  seasons  : 
the  spring,  or  panchin,*  from  the  vernal  equinox  to  the  sum 
mer  solstice  :  the  summer,  or  rupay-mitta,  from  the  summer 
solstice  to  the  equinox  of  autumn  :  the  autumn,  uma-raymir 
from  the  equinox  of  autumn  to  the  winter  solstice  ;  and  the 
winter,  or  para-mitta,  called  also  casac-puchu,  from  the  win 
ter  solstice  to  the  vernal  equinox.  At  each  one  of  these 
four  seasons  they  celebrated  a  general,  solemn  feast. 

Montesinos  tells  us  that  the  king  Inti-Capac  renewed  the 
computation  of  the  time,  which  was  being  lost,  and  that  they 
counted  the  years  in  his  regin  by  365  days  and  six  hours,, 

*  Or  tuctu,  from  the  bud  or  stem  of  the  corn  flower. 

6» 


130  PEEU. 

and  the  years  he  computed  by  decades  of  ten  years :  each  ten 
decades  made  a  century  of  a  hundred  years,  and  each  ten  centu 
ries  made  a  capac-huata,  (powerful  year),  or  Intiphuata,  which  is 
one  thousand  years,  that  is,  the  great  year  of  the  sun.  Thus 
they  counted  the  periods  or  memorable  deeds  of  their  kings. 

The  same  author  assures  us  that  the  king  Yahuar-IIuquiz, 
a  skilful  astronomer,  discovered  a  necessity  for  intercalating 
a  day  every  four  years,  to  form  a  bissextile  or  leap-year ; 
but  he  renounced  this  plan  in  favor  of  another,  which  seemed 
more  advantageous,  and  which  his  better  judgment  decided 
should  be  arranged  by  the  Amautas,  and  so  one  year  was 
intercalated  at  the  end  of  four  centuries.  In  memory  of 
this  king,  the  Indians  called  the  leap-year  Huquiz}  which 
was  previously  called  Allca-Allca,  and  for  the  same  reason 
they  gave  to  the  month  of  May  the  name  Huar-Huquiz. 
Such  is  the  assertion  of  Montesinos,  an  assertion  very  erro 
neous,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  silence  of  other  historians, 
from  the  absence  of  all  monuments  which  prove  the  ex 
istence  of  such  a  calendar,  and  from  the  little  credit  to  be 
given  to  the  above-mentioned  author.  The  wise  Peruvians 
did  not  divide  the  day  into  hours,  and  could  not  keep  an 
exact  astronomical  account,  possessing,  as  they  did,  an 
arithmetical  knowledge  so  scanty,  and  so  badly  supplied 
with  graphic  means.  Notwithstanding,  it  is  possible  that 
the  Amautas  counted  the  years  by  the  decimal  system. 

The  year  (Huata)  was  divided,  as  we  have  seen,  into  twelve 
months,  and  began,  according  to  some  authors,  in  the  sum 
mer  solstice,  at  the  end  of  June ;  according  to  others,  in  the 
winter  solstice,  at  the  end  of  December.  It  is  certain  that 
in  Cuzco  it  began  with  this  latter  month,  and  in  Quito, 
according  to  the  laws  of  Inca-Huayna-Capac,  in  the  summer 
solstice. 

We  will  now  explain  the  division  into  the  months,  with 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  131 

an  enumeration  of  the  principal  occupations  and  feasts 
which  took  place  in  each.  "We  follow,  in  the  names,  the 
etymology  derived  from  the  Quichua  language,  but  as  there 
is  another  set  of  names  whose  origin  is  less  clear,  not  being 
the  pure  Quichua,  nor  belonging  to  any  -neighboring  lan 
guage,  we  have  thought  it  best  to  place  at  the  end  of  each 
month  these  names  also. 

I.  Raymi  (December,  from  raymi,  a  solemn  dance).     This 
first  month  of  the  year,  as  it  began  with  the  day  of  the 
winter  solstice,  was  celebrated  with  general  balls,  music  and 
singing.     In  that  month  was  held  one  of  the  four  principal 
feasts  with  solemn  dances,  preceded  by  a  day  of  fasting. — 
(Sassippunchau).* 

There  was  an  assemblage  of  the  military  chiefs  with 
chosen  troops,  in  Cuzco,  for  military  exercises. — Camay  quiz. 

II.  Huchliuy-poccoy   (January,  from  huchhuy,  small,   and 
poccoy,  to  ripen}.    Thus  called  because  the  corn  began  to  form 
small  ears. 

Continuing  the  military  exercises,  they  exercised  the 
soldiers,  by  competition  principally  in  races.  They  re- 
Awarded  the  most  dexterous  and  skilful. — Pura-  Opiayguiz. 

III.  Hatun-poccoy  (February,  from  Hatun,  great,  Sindpoccoy, 
to  ripen).     Thus  called  on  account  of  the  increased  size  of 
the  corn. — Cac- May  quiz. 

IV.  Paucar-Jiuaray  (March).     As  regards  the  etymology 
of  this  name,  says  the  presbyter,  Don  Juan  de  Velasco,  (Hist. 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Quito,  Vol.  II.  p.  40):   "  Paucar-Huaray 
signifies  the  month  of  spring,  which  unites  the  beginning  with 
the  end  of  the  solar  year ;  since  paucar  signifies  the  beauty 

*  It  is  as  well  to  observe  that  they  counted  the  months  from  the  20th, 
21st,  or  22d,  according  to  the  solstice,  until  the  same  day  of  the  following 
month,  so  that  the  month  which  we  call  December — Raymi — included 
twelve  days  of  January. 


132  PERU. 

of  the  colors  which  the  flowers  display  during  this  time, 
and  huatay  signifies  binding  together.  Historians  write  this 
name  in  various  ways,  erring  from  its  having  become  cor 
rupted,  or  through  mis-information,  saying:  pacar-huaruy, 
pacar  huaray  and  pacar  huatuy,  finding  for  each,  different 
etymologies,  without  foundation,  and  without  discovering 
the  true  meaning  in  these  corrupted  words." 

In  our  opinion,  the  true  name  of  this  month  is  Paucar- 
hauray,  from  paucar,  flowery  place,  beautiful  meadow,  and 
from  Huaray,  to  place  baskets  under,  and  figuratively  to 
unfold  a  carpet,  since  this  month  spreads  itself  upon  the 
ground  like  a  magnificent  carpet. 

In  it  occurred  the  second  principal  feast  of  the  year,  pre 
ceded  by  three  days  of  fasting,  and  it  was  the  memorable 
feast  of  the  renovation  of  the  sacred  fire,  or  mosoc-nina. 
On  the  day  of  the  equinox,  the  Inca  waited,  accompanied 
by  all  the  priests  and  chief  lords  of  the  court,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  chief  temple  for  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  by  means 
of  a  metallic  mirror,  called  Inca-rirpu,  concentrated  its 
first  rays,  setting  fire  with  them  to  a  piece  of  sacred  cotton 
picked  and  prepared  for  this  purpose.  This  substance  was 
carried  while  burning  to  the  temple,  where  the  sacrifice  and 
offerings  to  the  sun  were  made,  and  afterward  it  furnished 
fire  to  all  the  houses.  The  Inca  was  also  accustomed  to 
distribute  to  all  the  assistants  bread  and  sacred  chicha. 
Finally,  the  feast  was  concluded  with  dancing,  music,  and 
general  rejoicing.  How  similar  is  this  ceremony  to  that 
which  takes  place  on  Easter  day  in  the  Christian  worship ! — 
Pacar- Ruarayquiz. 

V.  Agrihuay  (April).  This  word  signifies  an  ear  of  corn 
with  grains  of  divers  colors. 

In  this  month  began  the  harvest  of  this  cereal,  accompa 
nied  with  dancing,  music  and  copious  libations,  which  degen- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  133 

erated  into  intoxication.  There  were  premiums  proposed 
for  those  who  met  with  certain  colors,  determined  beforehand, 
in  the  grains  of  the  full  ears.  He  who  deserved  the  premium 
(missac)  was  celebrated  throughout  the  nation. — Arihuaquiz. 

VI.  Aymuray  (May).     Thus  called  because  of  the  convey 
ing  of  the  corn  to  the  public  depositories  and   granaries, 
which  took  place  in  this  month.     The  end  of  the  harvest 
they  celebrated  clothed  in  gala  dress,  with  music,  chicha, 
dancing,  and  sportive  games.     They  began  to  pull  up  Jhe 
stubble  preparatory  to  digging  the  earth. — Aymurayquiz. 

VII.  Inti-Raymi  (June,  from  Inti,  sun,  and  Raymi,  dance). 
In  this  month  was  celebrated  the  third  solemn  feast,  preceded 
by  a  fast.     They  rested  from  labor,  giving  themselves  up  to 
pleasure  and  enjoyment. — (Aucay-  Cuxqui.) 

VIII.  Anta-Asitua  (July,  from  Anta,  copper,  and  Asitua, 
great  dance).     This  month,  which  many  authors  call  simply 
Asitwa,  began  at  the  summer  solstice,  and  was  the  epoch  of  the 
military  balls.     Dressed  in  court  robes,  they  made  the  troops 
perform  splendid  exercises,  celebrated  their  feasts,  and  went 
through   the   streets  with   noisy  music,  accompanied  by  the 
people  inebriated  and  dancing. 

They  cultivated  the  land  and  prepared  it  for  sowing, 
emptied  chicha  into  the  aqueducts  and  rivers,  hoping  to  gain 
by  this  liberal  sacrifice  sufficient  water  for  their  fields. 
— Ch  ahuar-Huayquiz. 

IX.  Capac-Asitua    (August,   from    Capac,   powerful,    and 
Asitua,  great  ball). 

They  continued  the  feasts  of  the  preceding  month,  and 
even  with  still  greater  splendor  and  solemnity.  They  also 
called  this  month  Yapay-Asitua,  the  month  of  supplementary 
balls.  They  began  at  this  time  to  sow  corn,  potatoes,  sweet- 
root  of  Peru,  and  practise  singular  ceremonies,  in  order  to 
expel  beforehand  all  epidemical  diseases. —  Cituaquiz. 


134:  PERU. 

X.  Umu-Raymi  (September,  from  Urnu^  head,  and  Raymi, 
dance).     In   this   month  took  place  the  enrolling  of  those 
liable  to  be  taxed  in  the  empire,  and  the  verification  of  the 
prior  register,  celebrating  for  this  purpose  large  feasts. 

They  also  denominated  it  Coyaraymi,  because  they  married 
at  that  time  the  Coyas  or  royal  princesses,  to  whose  connec 
tions  succeeded  those  of  the  rest  of  the  empire. 

The  women  wore  gala  dresses,  and  at  this  time  was  cele 
brated  the  fourth  principal  feast,  or  Asitua-raymi^  preceded 
by  a  day  of  fast. — Puscuayquiz. 

XI.  Aya-Marca    (October).     We   are  not  positively  told 
the    etymology  of  this  word.     The   majority  of  historians 
write  the  name  of  this  month,  Ayarmaca,  but  in  our  opinion 
it  should  be  written  Ayamarca,  from  Aya,  corpse,  and  Marca, 
carry  in  arms,  because  they  celebrated  the  solemn  feast  of 
the  commemoration  of  the  dead  with  tears,  lugubrious  songs 
and  plaintive  music,  and  it  was  customary  to  visit  the  sepul 
chres  of  relations  and  friends,  and  leave  in  them  food   and 
drink.     It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  feast  was  celebra 
ted  among  the  ancient  Peruvians  at  the  same  period  and  on 
the  same  day  that  the  Christians  solemnized  the  commemo 
ration  of  the  dead  (2d  of  November). 

At  this  period  the  potters  made  large  bottles  for  the 
chicha,  and  in  each  house  was  this  beverage  devoted  to  the 
feasts  of  the  following  month. — Cantarayquiz. 

XII.  Capac-raymi  (November,  from  capac  and  ray  mi). 
This  was  the  last  month,  or  that  of  the   solemn  balls  to 

conclude  the  year.  The  feasts  and  dances  possessed  at  times 
a  character  of  excessive  joy,  which  degenerated  into  intoxica 
tion  and  licentiousness.  In  this  epoch  they  finished  sowing. 
In  the  public  square  of  Cuzco,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  repre 
senting  comedies  and  tragedies  composed  by  the  Amautas. 
At  the  same  time  the  Peruvians  amused  themselves  with 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  135 

different  games,  such  as  the  huayrachina,  or  game  of  ball,  the 
huayru,  a  species  of  dice,  the  chunca,  a  game  of  ball  with 
sticks,  the  huatucay,  a  game  of  enigmas,  etc. 

They  held  reunions  and  -numerous  assemblies  in  the 
capital  and  in  the  cities,  under  the  direction  of  the  princes. 
— Laymequiz. 

Their  limited  knowledge  of  astronomy  did  not  permit  the 
Peruvians  to  make  any  progress  in  the  art  of  navigation. 
In  their  feeble  vessels,  constructed  from  the  trunks  of  trees, 
a  balsa,  or  raft  with  a  mast,  and  skins  of  sea-wolves  or  mats 
of  rushes  for  sails,  fitted  to  explore  the  coasts  of  their  terri 
tory  and  interior  lakes,  they  did  not  dare  to  launch  out  into 
the  open  sea,  but  contented  themselves  with  the  knowledge 
which  they  possessed  of  their  own  dominions  on  land,  ac 
quired  by  their  conquests  ;  nevertheless  they  must  have  had 
some  knowledge,  from  what  is  said  by  Huaynacapac  (to 
which  Garcilasso  refers):  "I  suspect  that  those  who  have 
gone  round  by  the  coast  of  our  sea,  will  prove  to  be  a  people 
we  know ;  they  will  be  a  brave  people,  and,  at  all  events, 
will  prove  an  advantage  to  us."  It  is  also  worth  while  to 
notice  that  which  is  referred  to  by  Sor.  Castelneau,  that  the 
mat  or  rush  sails  which  they  made  use  of  in  the  lake  of 
Titicaca,  and  the  mode  of  taking  them  in,  is  identical 
with  that  which  is  seen  upon  the  sepulchre  of  Barneses 
III.  in  Thebes.  The  construction  of  these  weak  floating 
machines,  known  by  the  name  of  balsas,  and  floats  of  rushes 
in  actual  use  on  the  coast,  and  the  small  lakes  of  the  Cordil 
leras,  has  been  taken  for  a  model  for  steamboats,  and  life 
boats  in  cases  of  shipwreck,  made  of  gum-elastic  and  gutta- 
percha.  These  rafts  serve  commonly  the  purpose  of  smug 
gling  through  the  ports  and  coves  with  much  facility,  and  it 
is  easy  to  transport  them  without  difficulty  by  land ;  and  as 
their  cost  is  small,  they  attach  so  little  value  to  them  that 


136  PERU. 

they  burn  or  destroy  them  when  they  have  concluded  this 
immoral  traffic. 

In  speaking  of  the  Quichua  language  in  our  preceding 
chapter,  we  have  already  related  all  that  was  told  us  of  the 
progress  made  by  the  Amautas  in  poetry,  and  especially  in 
the  dramatical  line,  which  was  the  branch  they  cultivated 
from  choice.  We  can  easily  recognize  in  the  succinct  ex 
planation  which  we  have  given  of  the  rural  tasks,  feasts  and 
solemnities  of  the  twelve  months  of  the  Peruvian  year,  the  t 
wise  institutions  of  the  Incas,  whose  skilful  wisdom  and 
benevolent  perspicacity  knew  always  how  to  combine  the 
useful  with  the  agreeable,  as  much  to  conduce  to  the  public 
good  as  to  advance  individual  welfare,  rendering  labor  less 
heavy  by  means  of  an  adequate  combination  of  accompany 
ing  recreations.  After  the  fatigue  of  sowing  for  the  monarch 
was  over,  which  took  place  after  having  done  what  was 
required  for  the  lands  belonging  to  the  '  Sun  '  and  the  nation, 
the  Indians  enjoyed  representations  of  comedies,  the  object  of 
which  was  the  illustration  of  the  social  virtues,  now  of  one 
member  of  the  family  for  the  others,  now  of  the  vassal  for 
his  monarch  ;  again,  of  an  individual  for  the  state,  or  of  a 
private  gentleman  for  his  fellow-citizen.  In  the  month  of 
October,  after  the  feast  of  the  dead,  they  assisted  in  dramas 
or  tragedies  which  represented  scenes  of  the  patriotic  virtues 
of  their  ancestors  ;  and  in  the  months  of  the  military  exercises, 
it  was  customary  to  perform  comedies  alluding  to  celebrated 
warlike  deeds. 

"We  do  not  know  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  perfection 
attained  in  the  dramatic  art,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  in 
the  repeated  representations  of  comedies,  the  actors  reached 
great  perfection.  Without  doubt  the  applause  of  the  assist 
ants,  and  the  rich  rewards  which  distinguished  those  who 
excelled,  stimulated  them  to  make  progress  in  that  branch. 


PERUVIAN"  ANTIQUITIES. 


137 


Oratory  was  patronized  by  the  Incas,  and  a  gift  highly  es 
teemed  among  them  was  a  pure  and  soft  pronunciation,  as 
well  in  public  speaking  as  in  the  theatres. 

All  the  compositions  in  verse,  except  the  dramatic,  were 
destined  to  be  sung,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  same 
poets  composed  the  music  for  the  poems.  There  existed 
several  ancient  tunes  very  melodious,  which  might  serve  to 
test  the  musical  knowledge  of  the  ancient  Peruvians.  In 
order  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  this  music,  we  will  insert 
here  three  haravis. 


L — HAEAVI  IN  SOL  MINOR. 


/ 

I  - 
\ 

i 


\ * * ' — \ m ' 


138 


PERU. 


~9~  ~W 

( iSt-fen!— — zzin— i=F    ^iprrzipHiz nV^- 

\|tLS=tEite^EEi^3^« 


eE?=^ 


i=i 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


139 


II. — HAEAVI  IN  LA    MINOR. 


js^lili^^ij^ES 


t .' *--. 


140 


PERU. 


i  ' 


•H^Hi      ""MMBMBHMB  ^  "~"W 


"^  ^*i__i1^  i^^        i^*^1    "™ ^— •— C3  ^*1^—      ^^  EI3—  ^"^ 


5 


III. — HAEAVI  IN  RE  MINOE. 

rna 


PEEUVIAK  ANTIQUITIES'. 


141 


•••••• 


--  -- 

- 


r—     p  — 


— =EE 


E3E^^Ep6ta= 

nlr3:z         -*tbr       —^ —  j-|-J — j- 


142 


PERU. 


-#8 -•-[--•— fcd*  -'?%rr=*  — p'-j—g-hgr-  *-•-$-•  -| 


*3; 


F,-  -,-  ^  ,. 


L-J ^*». 1 


-fetir: 


-'-i^i= 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  143 


g== 

IEE^E          =3^ 


Although,  naturally,  the  Indians  possessed  much  fondness 
for  music,  we  are  forced  to  confess  that  this  art  was  in  its  in 
fancy  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 

Kude  and  noisy  instrumental  music  was  liked  in  pro 
portion  to  the  disturbance  it  created.  The  greatest  noise 
proceeded  from  the  clihilchiles  and  chanares,  certain  timbrels 
and  bells,  and  from  the  huancar  or  drum.  Among  the 
stringed  instruments  we  know  of  none  but  the  Tinya.-,  a 
species  of  guitar,  of  five  or  six  chords.  Their  wind  instru 
ments  were  the  cqueppa^  or  trumpet :  ccuyvi,  or  whistler,  of 
five  sounds :  the  pincullu,  or  flute :  the  huayllaca,  or  the 
flageolet:  the  chhayna,  a  certain  coarse  flute,  whose  lugubri 
ous  and  melancholy  tones  filled  the  heart  with  indescribable 
sadness  and  brought  involuntary  tears  into  the  eyes.  They 
attained  to  the  greatest  perfection  with  the  Imayra-pulmra,  an 
instrument  which  consisted  of  a  species  of  sirinx  or  flute  of 
Pan,  made  of  canes  attached  by  a  thread,  each  one  of  which 
contained  a  note  higher  than  the  preceding  one;  this  was 
the  only  instrument  on  which  musicians  could  play  in  con 
cert,  all  the  others  lacked  in  harmony.  The  Jiuayra-puliura 
was  made  of  reeds  of  cane  or  stone,  and  adorned  sometimes 
with  needlework.  The  French  General  Paroissien  found  in  a 
huaca,  over  a  corpse,  one  of  these  instruments,  made  of  stone, 
(a  species  of  talc)  ;  and  in  the  Museum  of  Berlin  is  preserved 
a  plaister  mould  of  this  interesting  object,  which  the  cele- 


144  PERU. 

brated  Humboldt  sent  to  the  English  physician  Stewart 
Traillj  with  a  letter,  from  which  we  extract  the  following 
notices,  (vid.  Mimitoli,  Description  of  an  ancient  city  in 
Guatemala,  etc.,  Berlin,  18S2,  notes,  page  53,  plate  XIL, 
fig.  I.) 

The  holes  of  the  canes  are  cylindrical  and  regularly  bored, 
and  are  three-tenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  to  the  bottom  of 
the  bore.  Their  length  is, 

Nr.  1,  4.90  inches,  Nr.  5,  2.45  inches, 

Nr.  2,  4.50      "  Nr.  6,  2.85       " 

Nr.  3,  4.12      "  Nr.  7,  2.00       " 

Nr.  4,  3.50      "  Nr.  8,  1.58      " 

The  canes  Nrs.  2,  4,  6,  and  7  contain  small  lateral  holes, 
which,  being  open,  give  no  sound,  but  closed  give  the 
following : 


Mi,     fa,      sol,      la,       re,      ut,      fa,      la. 


This  tetrachord  is  perfect  and  easy  of  touch.  By  means 
of  these  holes  this  diapason  is  divided  into  very  distinct 
tetrachords.  One  of  them  is,  for  instance,  the  key  of  mi 
minor,  the  other  of  fa  major.  Open  these  holes,  and  the 
instrument  produces  the  following  : 


pj 


This  tetrachord  is  perfect  and  also  simple  of  touch ;  it  was 
probably  the  favorite  key  of  the  Peruvians,  and  has,  without 
doubt,  produced  a  melodious  sound. 

The  second  tetrachord  is  produced  by  touching  only  the 
above  notes,  which  give  a  complete  major  key : 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  145 


But  in  this  key  the  instrument  possesses  half  a  note  more 
than  the  violin,  which  changes  the  Fa  fy  into  Fa  $  and  the 
CTi^into  Ut%. 

The  holes  permit  an  arbitrary  variation  of  the  diapason, 
which  is  modified,  according  to  Mendelssohn,  into  an  instru 
ment  of  this  description. 

According  to  Garcilasso,  (Comment.  II.,  Chap.  XXYI.) 
"  each  poem  or  song  had  its  appropriate  tune,  and  they  could 
not  put  two  different  songs  to  one  tune,  and  this  was  why 
the  enamored  gallant,  making  music  at  night  with  his  flute, 
with  the  tune  which  belonged  to  it,  told  the  lady  and  all  the 
world  the  joy  or  sorrow  of  his  soul,  the  favor  or  ill-will 
which  he  possessed,  so  that  it  might  be  said  that  he  spoke  by 
the  flute."  According  to  the  same  author,  they  did  not  play 
the  songs  which  contained  their  wars  and  deeds,  but  they 
sang  them  at  their  great  festivals  and  in  their  victories  and 
triumphs,  in  memory  of  their  valiant  deeds. 


CHAPTEE     VII. 

EELIGIOUS    SYSTEM    OF    THE    ANCIENT  PERUVIANS. 

EELIGION  opens  a  wide  career  to  human  hope,  and  traces 
a  distinct  route  for  the  will;  of  the  many  subjects  with 
which  the  mind  is  occupied,  there  is  none  which  so  deeply 
interests  it,  since  none  bears  so  close  a  relationship  to  the 
most  sublime  portion  of  human  nature.  Thus  we  may  say 
that  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  the  strongest  and  most  elevated 
of  all  feelings,  and  the  exponent  of  the  strength  of  a  gener 
ation  or  people.  "  Give  me  the  idea  which  exists  of  God 
among  a  nation  (says  Descartes),  and  I  will  give  you  their 
strength." 

Thus  there  is  no  monument  which  so  distinctly  discloses 
the  disposition,  genius,  tendencies,  and  extent  of  civilization 
in  the  shipwrecked  empire  of  Peru  as  its  worship,  at  once 
poetical  and  pompous,  emanating  from,  dogmas  and  legends, 
conforming  to  nature,  sanctifying  agriculture,  and  forming 
the  basis  of  all  policy,  and  shaping  the  condition  even  of  the 
theocratical  government  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Incas. 

The  Peruvian  religion,  as  is  generally  admitted,  was 
founded  upon  the  worship  of  the  Sun,  was  introduced  by  the 
Incas,  and  superseded  an  anterior  worship,  by  means  of  one 
of  those  overturns  or  religious  deluges,  more  than  one 
instance  of  which  is  furnished  us  in  the  Asiatic  annals.  Pre 
vious  to  this  reform  and  the  establishment  of  the  political 

(146) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  147 

institutions  described  in  this  work,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Peru  professed  a  creed  which,  however  grossly  disfigured  it 
may  have  been  by  puerile  superstitions,  still  attained  to  the 
conception  of  a  Supreme  Being,  Creator  of  all  that  existed,  to 
a  system  which  contains  vestiges  of  the  dogmas  of  the  fall 
of  man,  and  of  the  redemption.  Some  historians  of  the 
earlier  times  of  the  conquest  relate  to  us  what  they  have  suc 
ceeded  in  learning  on  this  point,  and  upon  their  accounts  we 
must  rely ;  as  all  traces  of  the  traditions  of  remoter  times, 
preceding  the  government  of  the  Incas,  have  been  effaced 
from  the  memory  of  the  nation. 

According  to  these  accounts,  the  Supreme  Being  was  called 
Con,  and  had  no  human  form  or  material  body,  but  was  an 
invisible  and  omnipotent  spirit  which  inhabited  the  universe. 
By  his  word  alone  he  created  the  world,  elevated  the  moun 
tains,  excavated  the  valleys,  filled  with  water  the  rivers, 
lakes  and  seas ;  and  gave  life  to  man,  peopling  with  the  race 
the  plains  and  mountains,  and  providing  them  with  all 
things  necessary  to  their  well-being  and  happiness.  Thus 
overflowing  with  the  gifts  of  Providence,  the  human  race 
remained  for  a  long  time  happy,  until  mankind  gave  them 
selves  up  to  vice  and  crime,  disregarding  the  respect  and 
worship  due  to  Co??,  and  entangling  themselves  more  and 
more  in  sin. 

Under  the  existence  of  so  much  disrespect  and  corruption, 
Con,  becoming  enraged  against  -ungrateful  man,  converted 
the  fertile  regions  into  sterile  deserts,  and  depriving  man  of 
what  was  necessary  for  his  subsistence,  converted  the  race 
into  black  cats,  and  other  horrible  animals,  leaving  the  earth 
uncultivated  and  deserted,  until  Pachacamac,  son  of  Con, 
taking  charge  of  the  government  of  the  world,  recreated  all 
which  had  been  destroyed  by  his  father,  and  gave  new  life  to 
man,  taking  special  care  of  all.  More  grateful  than  their 


148  PERU. 

predecessors,  the  new  generation  raised  in  honor  to  Pacha 
camac  a  sumptuous  temple  on  the  banks  of  the  sea,  worship 
ping,  with  the  greatest  idolatry,  a  deity  so  beneficent,  with 
out  venturing  to  make  a  corporeal  image,  while,  as  to  Con, 
they  judged  him  to  be  incorporeal,  and  consequently  invisi 
ble,  although  they  conceived  him  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the 
temple.  His  worshippers  never  ventured  to  invoke  the  name 
of  the  Deity  without  prostrating  themselves  on  the  ground, 
kissing  the  earth,  and  making  manifest  demonstrations  of 
abasement ;  and  when  they  offered  sacrifice  they  entered  the 
temple,  barefooted  and  silent,  throwing  themselves  on  the 
ground  before  the  sacrificial  altar. 

The  temple  of  Pachacamac,  the  immense  ruins  of  which  are 
still  visible,  near  the  town  of  Lurin,  to  the  south  of  Lima, 
was  the  only  one  throughout  the  whole  country  which  was 
dedicated  to  the  Supreme  Being,  and  for  this  reason  pilgrims 
from  distant  territories  directed  their  steps  to  present  their 
offerings  and  worship  the  Deity.  Thus  do-  the  historians 
speak  of  them :  "  The  pilgrims  passed  with  safety  even 
through  the  inimical  provinces,  against  which  they  had 
declared  war  without  other  condition  than  that  they  should 
go  in  small  parties  unarmed,  under  which  condition  they 
were  entertained  and  supported  in  all  parts,  according  to  the 
mutual  convenience  of  all  parties."  So  powerful  was  the 
feeling  of  general  veneration  for  the  Supreme  Beiug. 

They  do  not  tell  us  positively  whether  in  that  epoch  the 
Peruvians  worshipped  any  other  Deities,  but  according  to 
vestiges  long  prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  religion  of  the 
Incas,  it  is  not  probable  that  their  religion  was  limited  to  the 
single  worship  of  Con  and  Pachacamac  ;  and  studying  atten 
tively  the  worship  of  the  Peruvian  Inca  dynasty,  we  find 
many  vestiges  of  a  heterogeneous  system,  which  we  must 
view  as  the  remains  of  a  primitive  religion.  Its  analogy  with 


PEEUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  149 

the  other  nations  of  the  old  and  new  continent  is  a  new 
proof  which  operates  in  favor  of  the  supposition  of  a  poly- 
theistical  system  among  the  ancient  Peruvians. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  that  the  above  tradition  of  the  crea. 
tion  of  the  world,  by  the  invisible  and  omnipotent  Con,  the 
primitive  happy  state  of  men,  their  corruption  by  sin,  the 
destruction  of  the  earth,  and  its  regeneration,  bears  a  distinct 
analogy  to  the  Mosaic  chronicle  of  the  earliest  epoch  of  the 
history  of  the  human  race,  and  we  readily  distinguish  in  this 
system  the  primitive  monotheistic  religion,  common  to  all  the 
nations  of  the  world,  a  simple  and  exalted  worship,  which 
was  soon,  however,  corrupted  l>y  the  material  personification 
of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  the  introduction  of  new  Deities. 

Upon  the  introduction  of  the  new  worship,  the  Inca,  its 
founder,  incorporated  it,  with  cunning  artifice,  into  the 
prevailing  religion.  He  declared  to  the  nations  that  the 
Supreme  Divinity  was  the  Sun,  without  whom  nothing  could 
exist  in  the  world ;  that  the  Gods,  Con  and  Pachacamac,  were 
sons  of  the  Sun ;  that  he  himself,  the  revealer  of  this  doc 
trine,  was  a  brother  of  these  others,  and  consequently  a  son 
also  of  the  Sun;  that  his  omnipotent  father  permitted  him  to 
incarnate  himself,  and  descend  to  the  earth  in  order  to  teach 
men  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  instruct  them  concerning  the 
will  of  the  Supreme  Being. 

For  a  skilful  and  cunning  man  it  was  not  difficult  to  exer 
cise  his  intellectual  superiority,  to  his  own  profit  and  to  the 
general  good  also,  as  the  docile  and  submissive  diifosition 
of  the  Peruvians  induced  them  easily  to  adopt  a  "religion 
which,  without  being  detrimental  to  the  established  faith, 
enriched  it  and  gave  it  a  character  more  distinct  and  better 
adapted  to  their  pleasures  and  tastes.  Thus  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  new  doctrine  should  spread  rapidly  throughout  the 
principal  States,  and  that  from  thence  it  should  extend  and 


150  PERU. 

connect  itself  with  the  progress  which  the  imperial  dynasty 
was  constantly  making. 

Upon  examining  attentively  the  religious  system  intro 
duced  by  the  Incas,  we  do  not  find  in  it  one  of  those  pro 
foundly  metaphysical  and  sublime  ideas  which  are- so  promi 
nent  among  the  Asiatic  religions,  and  which  the  polytheistical 
worship  also  reveals  to  us.  The  base  of  their  religion  was 
the  private  interest  of  the  royal  family,  whose  authority  was 
by  this  means  rendered  more  firm  and  illimitable  than  that  ' 
of  the  most  powerful  autocrat  of  the  East. 

The  Sun  was  the  Supreme  Being  whom  the  nation  re 
spected  by  erecting  sumptuous  temples  wherein  they  offered 
most  exquisite  and  costly  sacrifices  ;  but  the  Inca,  as  a  son  of 
the  god,  was  considered  as  a  personified  deity — the  imme 
diate  organ  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  entitled  to  the  same 
homage  with  him.  A  worship  like  this,  whose  illusory  dog 
mas  could  not  bear  the  slightest  analysis,  was  only  possible 
among  a  credulous  people,  whose  faculties,  suppressed  by 
political  institutions  and  absorbed  by  war,  labor  and  feasts, 
did  not  permit  them  to  give  the  slightest  thought  to  things 
superior  to  their  trivial  occupations.  Well  did  the  Incas 
know  the  weakness  of  their  doctrine,  and  for  this  reason 
they  preserved  on  one  side  the  ancient  worship  of  Pachaca- 
mac:  whilst  on  the  other  they  inculcated  in  a  most  rigorous 
manner  the  worship  of  the  Sun. 

We  will  not  enter  into  imaginary  hypotheses  relative  to 
the  result  of  the  fusion  of  the  religion  of  the  Incas  with  the 
previous  prevailing  religion ;  it  being  almost  impossible  to 
distinguish,  throughout  all  its  extent,  the  elements  which 
have  been  preserved,  and  those  which  were  lost  or  added  to 
this  ancient  worship,  by  that  which  superseded  it,  and  the 
influence  of  which  we  cannot  define. 

The  most  important  works  upon  this  subject,  for  those 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  151 

who  desire  to  penetrate  as  profoundly  as  possible  into  it,  are 
the  "  Natural  and  Moral  History  of  the  Indians,"  by  Father 
Acosta ;  the  "  Chronicle  of  the  Great  Kingdom  of  Peru," 
by  Pedro  Cieza  de  Leon;  the  "Natural  History  of  the  West 
Indies,"  by  Don  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara  ;  a  part  of  the 
"  Commentaries  "  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  ;  and,  above  all, 
the  "Extirpation  of  the  Indians  from  Peru,  (Lima,  Ilieroni- 
mo  de  Contreras,  1621,  4to.),  written  by  the  Jesuit  Pedro 
Jose  de  Arriaga.  The  author,  charged  by  order  of  Don  Fran 
cisco  de  Borjay  Aragon,  Prince  of  Esquilache,  sixteenth  Vice 
roy  of  Peru,  and  by  the  Archbishop  Bartoloim  Lobo  Guerro, 
with  the  office  of  visiting,  with  several  other  commissioners, 
the  provinces  of  the  archbishop,  to  inform  themselves  of  the 
worship  used  by  the  natives,  and  to  destroy  their  idols,  tra 
versed  the  assigned  territory  between  February,  1617,  and 
July,  1618,  and  afterward  published  the  narrative  of  his 
journey,  filled  with  most  important  accounts.  This  work, 
which  is  exceedingly  rare  in  European  libraries,  gives  more 
information  concerning  the  Peruvian  mythology  than  all  the 
others  of  the  same  nature,  containing  a  summary  of  the  au 
ricular  confessions  of  more  than  five  thousand  persons,  par 
ticipators  in  the  Peruvian  idolatry,  and  also  an  account  of 
the  examination  of  numerous  idols,*  information  which 
has  aided  us  much  in  treating  of  the  idols  in  the  following 
pages. 

Faith  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  one  of  the  funda 
mental  ideas  among  all  the  Peruvian  nations.  They  believed 
that  after  death  the  just  went  to  a  beautiful  and  pleasant 
place,  unknown  of  the  living,  where  they  received  the 

*  The  author  quoted  in  the"  text  says  that  he  confessed  in  eighteen 
months  5,624  persons,  discovered  and  imposed  penance  on  679  ministers 
of  idolatry,  removed  603  principal  huacas,  3,418  ccwopos,  45  mamazaras, 
189  huancas,  and  617  mallquis. 


152  PERU. 

reward  for  their  virtue ;  whilst  the  souls  of  the  malicious 
were  tormented  in  a  doleful  place,  filled  with  sorrow  and 
fright ;  and  that  after  a  certain  time,  not  exactly  determined, 
they  should  return  to '  their  bodies,  beginning  a  new  terres- 
tial  life,  continuing  the  same  occupations,  and  making  use  of 
the  same  objects  which  they  had  left  at  the  time  of  their 
death.  This  belief  induced  them  to  preserve  the  corpses 
with  great  care,  and  to  bury  the  dead  with  a  part  of  their 
clothes,  their  utensils,  and  sometimes  with  their  wealth. 

The  judge  of  the  human  race  was,  according  to  the  belief 
of  the  Indians,  Pacliacamac  himself,  and  in  some  provinces 
Con  /  the  Indians  not  being  willing  to  believe  that  the  Sun 
was  to  be  considered  as  the  supreme  judge,  notwithstanding 
the  efforts  made  by  the  Incas  to  familiarize  the  Indians  with 
this  opinion.  As  in  the  first  age  of  the  world,  Con  punished 
the  human  race  with  a  frightful  barrenness,  so  in  the  second 
Pacliacamac  vented  his  wrath  in  a  deluge ;  and  there  was 
among  the  Peruvians  a  tradition  analogous  to  the  narrative 
of  Genesis,  as  to  the  construction  of  an  ark,  and  the  preser 
vation  of  a  small  portion  of  the  human  family  from  total 
ruin.  There  also  prevailed  the  belief  that  the  end  of  the 
world  would  come  after  a  frightful  famine,  that  the  sun  would 
be  obscured  and  the  moon  fall  into  our  planet,  and  that 
everything  would  be  left  enveloped  in  thick  darkness. 

In  opposition  to  the  Supreme  Being,  and  therefore,  as  the 
Peruvian  religion  considered,  to  Pacliacamac,  who  was  the 
infinite  essence,  endowed  with  ineffable  and  innumerable 
attributes,  the  Indians  also  believed  in  the  existence  of 
another  being,  of  evil  disposition  and  very  powerful,  ani 
mated  with  an  inextinguishable  hatred  against  the  human 
race,  and  disposed  to  injure  them  as  much  as  possible.  This 
being,  who,  by  the  character  attributed  to  him,  reminds  one 
of  the  Ahreman  of  the  Persians,  or  the  Satan  of  the  Jews 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  153 

and  Christians,  was  called  Supay,  and  in  some  places  was 
worshipped  in  temples  wherein  were  sacrificed  to  him  chil 
dren  of  tender  years  ;  an  abominable  worship,  which  reminds 
one  of  the  horrible  offerings  to  Moloch  and  Tiphon.  But 
Supay  was  subordinate  to  Pachacamac,  and  none  could  injure 
those  who  were  protected  by  this  beneficent  divinity,  the  in 
vocation  of  whose  name  alone  was  sufficient  to  appease  all 
malignant  spirits. 

The  worship  of  Pachacamac  was  much  more  widely  ex 
tended  than  historians  suppose,  and  we  may  safely  say  that 
he  was  the  Deity  most  popular  and  most  respected  by  the 
Peruvian  people  generally ;  whilst  the  religion  of  the  sun 
was  that  of  the  court,  a  worship  which,  although  generally 
recognized  by  the  Indians,  never  succeeded  in  eradicating 
their  faith  in  and  devotion  to  the  primary  divinity. 

In  fact,  in  all  the  accounts  of  the  life  of  the  Indians  there 
may  be  seen  that  profound  respect  which  they  paid  Pachaca 
mac.  Upon  the  birth  of  a  child,  they  raised  him  in  their 
arms,  offering  him  to  this  Deity,  and  imploring  his  protection 
for  the  new-born  infant.  When  a  poor  Peruvian  ascended 
a  hill  or  elevation,  he  unburdened  himself  of  his  load  upon 
reaching  the  summit,  made  the  usual  reverences  preceding 
the  invocation  of  the  name  of  Pachacamac,  and  bowing 
himself  repeated  three  times  the  word  " Apacliicta"  which 
was  the  abbreviation  for  Apachicta  muchhani  ;  which  means, 
"  I  adore  him  wh^o  enables  me  to  endure — I  give  thanks  to 
him  who  has  given  me  strength  to  endure  thus  far ;"  and  at 
the  same  time  he  presented  to  the  Apachic  or  Pachacamac  an 
offering,  which  consisted  either  of  a  hair  which  was  drawn 
from  the  eye-lash,  and  blown  into  the  air,  or  of  the  Coca 
which  they  chewed,  or  of  a  small  twig  or  little  straw,  or  of 
a  small  stone  or  a  handful  of  earth.  Even  at  the  present 
day  the  traveller  observes,  in  the  roads  near  the  top  of  the 


154:  PERU. 

Cordilleras,  Pacfatas,  heaps  of  stones  or  of  earth,  the  result 
of  these  offerings  :  and  the  Indians  even  now  continue  the 
custom  of  leaving  similar  tokens  in  the  same  places,  although 
with  a  very  different  signification. 

The  primitive  worship  not  quadrating  with  the  new  one 
established  by  the  Incas,  or  uniting  itself  with  difficulty  to 
the  former,  was  always  a  perplexity  to  the  imperial  dynasty, 
which  attempted  to  alter  its  various  features,  without,  how 
ever,  accomplishing  its  object  until  later  daj^s.  The  Inca 
Pachacutec  having  conquered  the  King  Cuyusrnancu,  lord 
of  the  valleys  of  Pachacamac^  Rimac,  Chancay  and  Huaman, 
the  sumptuous  temple  of  Pachacamac  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  conqueror.  Well  did  the  Peruvian  monarch  know  how 
imprudent  it  would  be  to  pursue  openly  the  worship  of  this 
Deity,  and  for  this  reason  he  succeeded,  with  his  customary 
cunning,  in  indirectly  undermining  it  and  in  amalgamating 
it  with  the  Sun-worship ;  now  by  corrupting  the  priests  of 
PACHACAMAC,  and  now  by  causing  to  be  constructed,  in  the 
suburbs,  another  temple  no  less  magnificent,  dedicated  to  the 
Sun,  which  was  adorned  in  the  most  ostentatious  manner, 
and  which  became  eventually  a  monastery  of  virgins  conse 
crated  to  that  Deity.  His  successors  followed  the  same  policy, 
reminding  us  of  the  Sultans  of  Delhi  and  Misora — zealous  Is 
lamites,  who  ordered  to  be  constructed  mosques  near  the 
Brahminical  pagodas — and  in  a  few  years  the  worship  of 
Pachacamac  fell  almost  into  disuse.  Finally,  the  Cusliipatas 
or  priests  constructed  a  horrible  idol  of  wood  with  a  human 
face,  thus  personifying,  in  the  most  profane  manner,  the 
divinity  who  for  so  many  centuries  had  embodied  the  sublime 
thought  and  ideal  conception  of  the  Peruvian  worship  ;  and 
they  abused  the  idol  to  subserve  their  purposes,  causing  it  to 
pronounce  feigned  oracles  and  enriching  themselves  at  the 
cost  of  the  nation's  credulity. 


PERUVIAN"  ANTIQUITIES.  155 

Upon  examining  the  worship  prevailing  in  Peru  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  it  is  natural  to  propose  the  question 
as  to  the  Incas — Did  they,  its  founders  and  protectors,  so 
distinguished  for  their  wisdom  and  prudence,  believe  them 
selves  in  those  dogmas  of  the  religion  which  they  attempted 
to  plant  in  their  vast  empire,  and  to  introduce  into  the  pro 
vinces  which  they  conquered  ?  Without  pretending  to  solve 
this  difficult  question,  we  will  merely  quote  the  words  of  two 
sovereigns,  which  are  very  significant.  One  of  them,  Tupac- 
Inca-Yupanqui,  says  (according  to  the  account  of  Father  Bias 
Valera,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Eoyal  Commentaries,  Part  I., 
Book  VIIL,  Chap.  VIII.) :  "  Many  say  that  the  Sun  lives, 
and  that  he  is  the  maker  of  all  things :  consequently  that 
which  makes  anything  must  assist  that  which  he  has  made  ; 
but  many  things  are  made  during  the  absence  of  the  Sun, 
therefore  he  is  not  the  maker  of  all  things  ;  and  that  he  does 
not  live  is  proved,  because  his  trips  do  not  tire  him.  If  he 
were  a  living  thing  he  would  grow  weary  like  ourselves,  or 
if  he  were  free  he  would  visit  other  parts  of  the  heavens 
where  he  has  never  been.  It  is  like  a  tied  bullock  which 
always  makes  the  same  circuit,  or  like  the  arrow,  which  goes 
where  it  is  sent  and  not  where  it  wishes."*  The  second  ex 
tract  is  from  the  learned  Inca-IIuayna-Capac,  and  is  referred 
to  by  Father  Acosta  (Hist,  of  the  New  World,  Chap.  V.) : 
IC  The  Indians  relate  that  on  one  day  of  the  nine  during 
which  the  principal  feast  of  the  Sun,  called  Raymi,  lasted, 
the  Inca  took  the  liberty  of  gazing  upon  the  sun  (which  was 
prohibited,  as  it  savored  of  disrespect).  lie  cast  his  eyes 
upon  it  as  long  as  it  was  possible,  and  remained  thus  for 
some  time,  gazing  at  it.  The  chief  priest,  who  was  one  of 

*  The  learned  Humboldt,  in  his  remarkable  work  entitled  Ansicliten  der 
Natur,  II.,  p.  384,  erroneously  attributes  this  saying  to  the  Inca  Huayna- 
Capac. 


156  PERU.  ^ 

liis  uncles,  and  stood  by  his  side,  said  to  him,  {  What  are 
you  doing,  Inca  ?  Do  you  not  know  that  it  is  not  lawful  to  do 
this?' 

"  The  king  then  cast  down  his  eyes,  but  after  a  short  time 
took  the  same  liberty  and  fixed  them  again  upon  the  sun. 
The  chief  priest  said,  *  Consider,  my  lord,  what  you  are 
doing;  for  besides  being  prohibited,  as  we -are,  from  looking 
with  freedom  upon  the  sun,  as  it  is  deemed  disrespectful,  see 
the  bad  example  given  to  your  court,  and  to  the  whole  em 
pire,  here  assembled  to  celebrate  the  worship  and  adoration 
due  to  your  father  as  the  supreme  and  only  lord.'  Huayna- 
Capac,  looking  at  the  priest,  said  to  him,  'I  will  propose  to 
you  two  questions  in  reply  to  what  you  have  said.  I  am 
your  King  and  universal  Lord  ;  are  any  of  you  rash  enough 
to  order  me,  for  your  own  pleasure,  to  leave  my  throne,  and 
thus  make  the  way  clear  ?  '  The  priest  replied,  '  Who  would 
be  mad  enough  to  do  thus  ? '  The  Inca  replied,  '  And  is  there 
any  noble  among  my  subjects,  however  rich  and  powerful 
he  be,  who  would  not  obey  me  if  I  ordered  him  to  go  by 
post  from  here  to  Chili?'  The  priest  replied,  c  No,  Inca, 
there  are  none  who  would  not  obey  thee  to  the  death,  in  all 
that  thou  commandest.' 

"  The  King  then  said,  *  Well,  then,  I  tell  thee  that  this 
our  father,  the  sun,  must  have  another  lord  or  master  more 
powerful  than  himself,  who  commands  him  each  day  to  make 
the  circuit  that  he  makes  without  stopping ;  because,  were 
he  the  supreme  lord,  he  would  sometimes  leave  off  travelling 
and  rest  for  his  own  pleasure,  even  though  there  might  be 
no  necessity  for  so  doing." 

The  Peruvian  deities  are  divided  into  deities  of  this  world, 
and  these  again  into  stellar  and  terrestrial  deities  ;  into  historical 
deities,  deities  of  the  nation,  or  of  the  people,  and  finally  into 
deities  of 'families  or  individuals,  similar  to  the  lares  smdpenates 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  157 

of  the  Romans.  To  the  stars  belonged  the  /Sun,  the  Moon, 
his  wife  or  coya,  Venus,  the  Pleiades,  the  Hyades,  a  star  called 
Mamanmircue-  Coyllur,  and  the  constellation  of  the  Southern 
Cross. 

The  San  (Inti  or  ppunchau),  as  we  have  already  said,  was 
the  god  par  excellence,  the  protecting  deity,  he  who  presided 
over  the  destinies  of  man — the  origin  of  the  roj^al  family. 
To  the  Sun  belonged  the  magnificent  temples  which  existed 
in  all  the  cities  and  in  almost  all  the  villages  of  the  vast  Pe 
ruvian  territory — temples  resplendent  and  ornamented  with 
gold  and  jewels,  upon  the  altars  of  which  they  kindled  their 
sacrifices.  They  were  only  surpassed  by  that  of  Cuzco,  of 
which  we  will  treat  more  extensively  in  another  chapter, 
as  celebrated  for  its  marvellous  construction  as  for  its  riches. 
Each  year  the  four  principal  feasts,  corresponding  with  the 
four  astronomical  epochs  of  the  year,  were  held  in  it.  In 
these  temples  was  sacrificed  the  wealth  of  the  empire,  such 
as  precious  metals,  finely  woven  cloth,  cattle,  corn,  gum, 
fruits,  and  even  children  of  tender  years.  Numerous  were 
the  priests  destined  for  the  service  of  God,  and  by  day,  as 
well  as  by  night,  a  certain  number  of  them  were  obliged  to 
watch  in  turn  in  the  temples,  and  to  fulfil  the  prescribed 
offices. 

These  chosen  priests  were  held  in  great  esteem  among  all 
the  members  of  the  priestly  society  ;  they  also  had  to  master 
most  difficult  studies,  pass  through  severe  examinations,  and 
give  high  proofs  of  capacity.  As  they  formed  a  privileged 
caste,  the  youths  who  were  destined  to  occupy  the  sacerdotal 
rank  in  the  temples  were  educated  from  their  most  tender 
years.  They  were  obliged  to  observe  great  penances  and  to 
fast  rigorously,  especially  before  the  four  principal  feasts. 
The  fast,  which  sometimes  continued  a  year  and  more,  con 
sisted  in  the  total  privation  of  food,  if  it  lasted  but  a  few 


158  PERU. 

days,  and  in  the  total  abstinence  from  salt  and  garlic  when 
it  lasted  a  longer  time :  and  sometimes  so  rigorous  was  it, 
that  they  did  not  venture  to  touch  their  bodies  with  their 
hands  while  it  lasted.  In  some  parts  of  the  empire  the  Cus- 
hipatas,  or  priests,  maintained  a  perpetual  celibacy ;  in 
others  they  were  married,  but  while  the  fast  lasted,  they  ab 
stained  from  all  personal  contact  with  their  wives.  They 
enjoyed  much  respect  throughout  the  nation,  and  the  chief 
priest  (Huillca-Umci),  who  was  an  Inca  of  royal  blood,  and 
belonged  to  the  sacerdotal  society  of  the  sun,  possessed  the 
government  of  the  other  priests  of  the  empire.  He  resided 
in  Cuzco,  and  extracted  auguries  from  the  flight  of  birds 
and  from  the  entrails  of  the  victims,  in  the  presence  of  the. 
Inca.  At  the  solemn  feasts,  the  king  himself  in  person  was 
the  high  priest,  for  which  purpose  he  was  initiated  and  con 
secrated  in  all  the  mysteries  of  religion. 

There  were  virgins  dedicated  to  the  Sun,  considered  as 
wives  of  the  god  ;  these  lived  in  cloisters  or  convents  in  the 
greatest  retirement.  The  most  celebrated  was  the  Acllahuasi, 
in  Cuzco,  or  house  of  the  selected  ones — who  were  made 
such  either  from  their  lineage  or  for  their  beauty.  This  con 
tained  more  than  one  thousand  virgins.  Those  who  alone 
could  aspire  to  admittance  within  this  sacred  college  were 
the  maidens  of  royal  blood,  who,  from  their  most  tender 
years,  were  taken  from  the  bosom  of  their  families  to  be  en 
closed  within  the  convent,  under  the  superintendence  of  an 
cient  matrons,  to  whom  was  given  the  name  ofmamacuncfc,  and 
who  had  grown  gray  within  these  walls.  They  were  obliged 
to  pronounce  the  vow  of  perpetual  virginity  and  seclusion, 
without  the  slightest  connection  with  the  world,  nor  even 
with  their  parents  ;  and  so  faithfully  was  this  vow  executed, 
and  so  closely  was  this  seclusion  observed,  that  not  even 
the  Peruvian  monarch  himself  dared  tread  within  the  pre- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  159 

cincts  of  the  monastery,  a  privilege  which  was  only,  by  reason 
of  their  sex,  enjoyed  by  the  queen  and  her  daughters. 

Under  the  direction  of  competent  mistresses,  the  wives  of 
the  Sun  were  taught  the  sacred  duties  of  their  office.  Their 
occupations  were  spinning  and  weaving  the  garments  of  the 
Incas  of  the  finest  vicuna  wool,  woven  in  brilliant  colors 
and  enamelled  with  gold  and  stones.  These  sacred  virgins 
were  also  obliged  to  weave  the  garments  in  which  the  Inca 
sacrificed  to  the  Sun,  as  also  to  prepare  the  cliicha  and  sacred 
bread  of  corn,  called  zancus,  for  the  monarch  and  his  court. 

The  houses  which  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun  occupied  were 
richly  marbled  and  adorned  with  as  much  taste  as  the 
palaces  of  the  Incas  and  the  temples  of  the  Sun,  thus  carry 
ing  out  the  policy  of  the  Peruvian  monarchs,  that  nothing 
should  be  wanting  to  make  this  institution  flourish,  as  the 
Eornan  emperors  heaped  with  honors  and  privileges  the  col 
lege  of  vestals,  in  which  was  concentrated  the  prosperity  of 
the  empire,  and  which  in  many  respects  bore  a  close  resem 
blance  to  the  virgins  of  the  sun. 

In  the  provinces  were  similar  cloisters,  but  destined  to 
another  purpose.  There  were  received  maidens  of  all  classes, 
noble  and  plebeian,  provided  they  were  possessed  of  person 
al  beauty.  Designed  to  be  concubines  of  the  monarch,  those 
who  attained  to  this  honor  were  chosen  and  sent  to  Cuzco, 
leaving  the  others  to  remain  in  perpetual  virginity  as  the 
spouses  of  the  Sun.  Those  who  had  the  honor  of  attaining 
to  the  royal  bride-chamber  could  not  return  to  their  monas 
tic  seclusion,  but  remained  in  the  palace  as  ladies  of  the 
queen,  until  they  reached  an  advanced  age,  when  they  were 
permitted  to  return  to  their  home  and  country,  where, 
although  they  occupied  a  lower  station,  they  received  honor 
and  respect,  as  the  property  of  the  Inca,  leading  an  easy  and 
sumptuous  life  in  their  retirement.  Those  who  remained  in 


160  PERU. 

the  cloisters,  occupied  themselves,  as  did  the  virgins  of  the 
sun,  in  spinning  and  weaving,  and  the  cloth  which  they 
wove  was  presented  by  the  Inca  to  the  Lords  of  his  court, 
the  princes,  and  other  nobles  who  were  thought  worthy  of 
the  honor  by  the  monarch. 

The  wife  of  the  Inca  who  was  convicted  of  adultery  was 
subjected  to  the  same  penalty  as  the  virgin  of  the  Sun  who 
proved  false  to  her  vows.  If  she  swore  that  the  Sun  him 
self  was  the  author  of  her  pregnancy,  she  was  allowed  to  live 
until  the  time  was  accomplished  for  her  delivery,  and  was 
then  buried  alive.  The  fruit  of  her  union  with  the  Deity 
was  reserved  for  the  priesthood,  or  was  destined  to  form  a 
part  of  the  sacred  society  of  the  virgins  of  the  Sun,  according 
to  its  sex. 

The  Moon  (quilla),  considered  as  the  sister  and  wife  of  the 
Sun,  was  an  object  of  profound  respect,  but  the  worship 
given  to  it  was  much  more  limited  than  that  given  to  the 
Sun.  The  Moon  was  considered,  as  at  Athens  and  Eome,  to 
be  the  protecting  deity  of  women  in  childbirth.  In  the 
province  of  Huamantanca  existed  a  celebrated  temple  dedi 
cated  to  this  Deity.  Yery  erroneous  is  the  assertion  of 
Garcilasso,  who  pretends  that  the  ancient  Peruvians  had  no 
other  god  than  the  Sun,  that  they  did  not  recognize  the  Moon 
as  a  goddess,  nor  offer  sacrifices  to  it,  nor  construct  temples 
to  it ;  and  that,  although  they  believed  that  it  was  the  uni 
versal  mother,  and  under  this  idea  professed  great  veneration 
for  it,  still,  beyond  that,  their  idolatry  did  not  go.  The  same 
author  contradicts  himself,  inasmuch  as  in  other  parts  of  his 
Commentaries,  he  alludes  to  the  several  gods  worshipped  by 
the  Incas ;  and  nothing  but  the  partiality  resulting  from  his 
birth  (which  is  particularly  evident  when  he  speaks  of  the 
worship  and  religious  ceremonies  of  his  ancestors)  could 
have  induced  him  to  make  an  assertion  so  devoid  of  proofs. 


• 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  161 

and  in  such  direct  contradiction  to  the  other  historians,  whose 
accounts  unanimously  affirm  the  existence  of  a  polytheistical 
worship  in  ancient  Peru. 

The  most  beautiful  of  all  the  planets,  Yenus  (Ohhasqui 
Coyllur),  was  worshipped  as  a  page  of  the  /SVm,  by  which  he 
was  closely  followed,  when  he  rose  and  when  he  set.  The 
constellation  of  the  Pleiades  (Onccoy  coyllur)  was  also  an  ob 
ject  of  devotion  on  account  of  the  influence  attributed  to  it 
in  many  diseases :  the  Hyades,  for  their  fancied  action  in 
seed-time,  and  the  maman-mircuc-coyllur,  because  they  be 
lieved  that  this  star,  as  its  name  would  indicate,  influenced 
some  men  to  eat  their  fathers. 

Among  the  elemental  Deities,  we  must  particularly  men 
tion  the  air  (Huayra),  the  fire  (nina\  the  lightning  and 
thunder  (llipiac  or  illapi),  and  the  rainbow  (ckuichi)  :  these 
latter  two  were  considered  as  servants  of  the  Sun,  and  were 
consequently  respected,  especially  the  llipiac,  to  whom  they 
sacrificed  llamas. 

The  terrestrial  Deities  were  very  numerous  ;  many  of  them 
had  temples,  and  the  Peruvians  sacrificed  to  all  of  them,  in 
voking  their  aid,  especially  when  they  found  themselves  in 
immediate  contact  with  them.  To  the  earth  (Mamapacha), 
they  offered,  in  the  time  of  harvest,  ground  corn  and  chicha, 
imploring  them  to  grant  a  good  harvest.  The  hills,  moun 
tains,  and  snowy  ridges  received  a  worship  somewhat  mys 
terious,  as  did  also  the  rocks  of  uncommon  shape,  which  are 
sometimes  observed  in  the  Cordilleras,  and  appear  like  men 
converted  into  stone.  The  sea  (Mamacoclia)  was  piously  in 
voked  by  those  Indians  who  dwelt  between  the  Sierra  and 
the  coast,  imploring  it  to  grant  them  good  health,  since  they 
believed — and  in  this,  they  were  not  far  from  truth — that  its 
vapors  produced  the  diseases  from  which  those  suffered  who 
lived  on  the  plains  near  the  sea.  On  the  banks  of  rivers 


162  PEKU. 

(Mayu)  they  performed  the  ceremony  called  Mayuchalla, 
which  consisted  in  taking  a  little  water  in  the  hollow  of  the 
hand  and  drinking  it,  invoking  the  God  of  the  river  to  per 
mit  them  to  pass  it*  or  to  give  them  fish ;  and  to  render  it 
propitious,  they  threw  corn  into  it.f 

*  Even  at  the  present  day  every  Indian  living  on  the  Cordilleras  per 
forms  this  ceremony,  before  passing  a  river  on  foot  or  on  horseback. 

t  The  principal  temples  of  the  idols  of  the  Cliibchas  were,  as  we  have 
already  said,  the  lakes,  where  they  might  make  their  offerings  of  pre 
cious  things  without  fear  of  others  profiting  by  it,  because,  although  they 
had  confidence  in  their  priests,  and  knew  that  they  buried  them  care 
fully  in  the  vessels  designed  for  that  purpose,  they  naturally  felt  more 
certain  of  it  when  they  threw  them  into  lakes  and  dee'p  rivers.  The 
lake  of  Gualaiita  was  the  most  celebrated  of  all  these  sanctuaries,  and 
each  village  had  a  beaten  footpath  leading  to  it,  by  which  they  went  and 
offered  their  sacrifices.  They  crossed  two  ropes  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
form  equal  angles,  and  to  the  intersection  of  these  went  the  raft  which 
conveyed  the  chiefs  of  the  lake  and  the  devotees.  There  they  invoked 
the  miraculous  princess  Baclmc  and  her  daughter,  who  were  said  to  live 
at  the  bottom  in  a  delightful  spot,  with  all  conveniences,  from  the  time 
when,  in  a  hasty  moment,  she  quarrelled  with  the  ancient  prince  her  hus 
band,  and  was  thrown  into  this  lake,  and  there  her  offerings  were  made. 
Each  lake  had  its  tradition,  and  pilgrimages  to  these  sanctuaries  were 
very  common  among  the  Chibchas. 

At  the  time  that  the  prince  of  Gualavita  was  an  independent  chief,  he 
made  each  year  a  solemn  sacrifice,  which,  by  its  singularity,  contributed 
to  give  celebrity  to  this  lalje,  even  through  the  most  distant  countries, 
and  which  was  the  origin  of  the  belief  of  the  Dorado,  in  search  of  which 
so  many  years  and  so  much  property  were  spent.  On  the  appointed 
day,  they  anointed  the  body  with  turpentine,  and  afterward  rubbed  it 
with  gold-dust.  Thus  gilded  and  resplendent,  they  embarked  upon  the 
rafts,  surrounded  by  the  old  men,  and  in  the  midst  of  music  and  crowds 
of  people  who  covered  the  declivities  which  surrounded  the  lake  in  the 
form  of  an  amphitheatre.  Arrived  at  the  centre,  the  prince  deposited  the 
offerings  of  gold,  emeralds,  and  divers  precious  objects,  and  threw  him 
self  into  the  waters  to  bathe.  At  this  moment  the  neighboring  moun 
tains  resounded  with  the  applause  of  the  people.  The  religious  ceremony 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  163 

The  Historical  Deities  were  those  which  initiated  men  into 
social  life  and  civil  institutions;  and  in  almost  all  poly- 
theistical  religions,  there  attaches  to  each  one  of  these  a 
tradition,  or  legend,  relative  to  its  character  and  actions 
whilst  it  was  in  direct  relation  to  man.  In  the  Peruvian  re 
ligion  the  greater  part  of  these  traditions  have  been  lost,  or 
at  least  a  knowledge  of  them  has  not  descended  to  Europeans, 
doubtless  for  want  of  an  epic  poem  in  the  Quichua  language. 
For  this  reason  we  can  only  cite  by  name  some  of  the  his 
torical  deities,  with  a  few  observations  upon  their  figures,  as 
they  are  described  by  ancient  travellers,  whose  zeal  induced 
them  to  burn  them  or  break  them  into  fragments.  The 
greater  number  of  these  Deities  were  Huacas,  that  is,  wor 
shipped  by  one  province,  one  town,  or  only  one  hamlet.  A 
few  of  them  had  temples,  but  the  Indians  sacrificed  to  all, 
and  celebrated  in  their  honor  several  annual  feasts. 

The  chief  of  these  Deities,  and  one  intimately  connected 
with  Peruvian  history,  was  Viracocha,  who  more  than  once 
appeared  in  human  form  to  the  Inca  of  the  same  name,  the 
son  of  YaJiuar-Huacac  ;  saying  that  he  was  the  son  of  the 
Sun,  and  brother  of  Manco-  Capac,  and  giving  an  account  of 

being  over,  then  commenced  dancing,  singing,  and  intoxication.  In  these 
monotonous  and  measured  songs,  they  always  repeated  the  ancient  his 
tory  of  the  country,  and  what  they  knew  of  its  gods,  its  heroes,  battles, 
and  other  memorable  events,  which  were  thus  transmitted  from  genera 
tion  to  generation.  At  "the  doors  of  the  dwellings  of  the  princes,  who 
always  presided  at  these  feasts,  as  in  all  public  functions,  there  were  sta 
tioned,  as  long  as  they  lasted,  two  naked  old  Indians,  one  on  each  side, 
playing  upon  the  choismja,  which  is  a  wind  instrument,  sad  and  shrill;  and 
covered  simply  with  a  fish-net  or  atarraya,  which  among  the  Indians  is 
the  symbol  of  death,  because  they  say  we  should  never  lose  sight  of  this, 
especially  in  times  of  rejoicing  and  feasting.  There  were  also  races  and 
contests  among  the  youths,  the  prince  rewarding  the  most  agile  and  skil 
ful — (/.  Acosta.  Historical  Compendium,  pag.  198,  199.) 


164  PERU. 

important  events  which  were  to  take  place  in  the  future. 
The  Inca  ordered  to  be  constructed  in  honor  of  this  appari 
tion  a  magnificent  temple  at  Cacha,  sixteen  leagues  from 
Cuzco. 

In  the  interior  of  this  edifice  was  a  species  of  chapel,  paved 
with  black  stones,  in  which  was  a  niche,  the  interior  of 
which  contained  an  immense  pedestal,  on  which  reposed  the 
Deity,  as  he  had  appeared  to  the  Inca.'  According  to  the 
description  given  by  Garcilasso,  "  he  was  a  man  of  good 
stature,  with  a  large  beard,  more  than  an  inch  in  length,  gar 
ments  long  and  wide,  like  a  tunic  or  cassock,  reaching  to 
the  feet.  He  held  the  image  of  an  unknown  animal,  having 
lion's  claws,  and  tied  by  the  neck  with  a  chain,  one  end  of 
which  was  in  the  hand  of  the  statue.  All  this  was  made  of 
stone  ;  and  because  the  workmen  not  having  seen  the  origi 
nal,  nor  a  copy  of  it,  knew  not  how  to  sculpture  it,  as  they 
told  the  Inca,  he  placed  himself  in  the  dress  and  position  in 
which  he  said  he  had  seen  it.  ...  The  statue  was  similar 
to  the  images  of  our  blessed  Apostles,  and  more  particularly 
resembled  that  of  St.  Bartholomew."  For  two  centuries 
previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  had  the  worship  of 
Viracocha  been  professed. 

As  sons  of  the  Supreme  Divinity,  the  Incas  enjoyed,  even 
after  death,  general  adoration.  Their  obsequies  were  cele 
brated  with  the  greatest  pomp  and  solemnity,  and  to  their 
corpses  were  offered  numerous  sacrifices ;  for  which  reason 
we  should  consider  them  as  Historical  Gods.  The  deceased 
monarch  was  embalmed  with  so  much  dexterity  and  skill 
that  he  seemed  to  be  living,  and  in  this  state  he  was  pre. 
served  entire  centuries.  His  intestines,  deposited  in  vases 
of  gold,*  were  preserved  in  the  magnificent  temple  of 

*  A  similar  custom  we  also  observe  among  the  Zipas  of  Bogota,  ac 
cording  to  the  account  of  Acosta.  "When  these  monarchs  died,  the  old 


PERU VI AN  ANTIQUITIES.  165 

Tambo,  four  leagues  from  Cuzco,  where  the  body  was  seated 
upon  a  species  of  throne,  in  a  natural  position,  before  the 
figure  of  the  Sun,  in  the  principal  temple  of  the  capital. 
Yery  interesting  are  those  accounts  given  by  the  early 
chroniclers  of  those  mummies  which  they  obtained  a  view 
of.  Grarcilasso  (1.  c.  Book  v.,  Chap,  xxix.)  says :  "  In  the 
chamber  are  found  five  bodies  of  the  Inca  sovereigns ;  three 
of  men,  and  two  of  women.  The  first  was  said  by  the  In 
dians  to  be  the  Inca  Viracocha,  of  great  age,  whose  hair  was 
white  as  snow.  The  second  was  said  to  be  the  great  Tupac- 
Inca-Yupanqui,  who  was  the  great-grand-son  of  Viracocha- 
Inca.  The  third  was  Huayna-Capac,  son  of  Tupac- Inca-  Yu- 
panquij  and  great-great-grand-son  of  the  Inca  Viracocha. 
The  two  latter  had  not  apparently  lived  as  long ;  for,  although 
they  had  marks  of  old  age,  they,  were  less  than  those  of  Vira 
cocha.  One  of  the  women  was  the  queen,  Mama-Runti^ 
wife  of  the  Inca  Viracocha.  The  other  was  the  Coya-Mama- 
Ocllo,  mother  of  Huayna-  Capac  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
Indians  placed  them  near  each  other,  after  the  death  of  hus 
band  and  wife,  as  they  were  united  in  life.  The  bodies 
were  so  entire  that  they  lacked  neither  hair,  eye-brows,  nor 
eye-lashes.  They  were  dressed  in  their  usual  habiliments, 
such  as  they  wore  when  living,  with  ornaments  on  their 
heads,  and  without  other  ensign  of  royalty.  They  were 
seated  as  the  Indians  usually  seat  themselves, — their  hands 
crossed  over  their  breasts,  the  right  over  the  left,  the  eyes 
cast  down,  as  though  they  gazed  upon  the  ground." 

According  to  the   testimony  of  others,   Gonzalo  Pizarro 

men  extracted  the  intestines,  and  filled  the  cavities  with  liquid  rosin, 
afterward  introducing  the  corpse  into  a  large  trunk  made  of  palm,  lined 
with  sheets  of  gold  within  and  without ;  and  they  were  carried  secretly, 
and  buried  in  a  vault  already  made,  from  the  day  on  which  they  began 
to  reign,  in  secret  and  distant  provinces. 


166  PERU. 

disinterred  the  body  of  the  Inca  Viracoclia,  in  Haquijahuana, 
and  ordered  it  to  be  burned.  The  Indians  gathered  together 
the  ashes,  and,  placing  them  in  a  small  jar  of  gold,  made  to 
it  splendid  offerings. 

The  body  of  Huayna-  Capac  was  moved  from  Patallacta  to 
Totacacha,  where  was  founded  the  parish  of  San  Bias.  It 
was  so  well  preserved  that  it  seemed  to  be  in  life.  The  eyes 
were  made  of  very  thin  gold,  and  so  well-formed  that  they 
seemed  natural,  and  the  whole  body  was  prepared  with  a 
species  of  bitumen.  There  appeared  on  the  head  the  scar  of 
a  stone  thrown  in  war,  and  the  long  hair  was  visible,  very 
hoary,  and  perfect.  He  had  died  about  eighty  years  previous. 
The  Licentiate  Polo-  Ondegardo,  in  the  vice-royalty  of  D. 
Andres  Hurtado  de  Mendoza,  the  second  Marquis  of  Canete, 
brought  this  mummy,  with  several  others  of  the  Incas,  from 
Cuzco  to  Lima.  Garcillasso  adds:  "  The  bodies  weighed  so 
little  that  any  Indian  might  carry  them  in  his  arms,  or  on 
his  shoulders,  from  house  to  house  of  the  gentlemen  who 
wished  to  see  them.  They  carried  them,  covered  with  white 
'  cjoths,  through  the  streets  and  squares,  surrounded  by  the 
Indians,  worshipping  them  with  tears  and  groans ;  and 
many  Spaniards  lifted  their  caps  as  they  passed,  because  they 
were  the  bodies  of  kings,  which  was  so  grateful  to  the  In 
dians  that  they  could  not  sufficiently  express  their  thanks." 
Finally,  the  mortal  remains  of  these  powerful  and  wise  mon- 
archs  were  interred  in  a  court  of  the  Hospital  of  Saint 
Andrew,  in  Lima. 

Besides  the  Incas  the  Peruvians  adored  also  heroes  in 
some  of  the  provinces,  and  it  seems  that  this  worship  origin 
ated  before  the  Incas  conquered  those  territories.  In  the 
ancient  town  of  Huahualla,  for  instance,  they  sacrificed  to 
the  mummies  of  Caxaparca,  and  of  his  son,  Huaratama,  both 
dressed  in  the  garb  of  warriors,  with  many  feathers  of  divers 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  167 

colors;  but  tradition  relates  to  us  nothing  concerning  the 
deeds  of  these  persons,  who,  it  is  probable,  were  distinguished 
commanders  of  the  nation. 

We  have  already  said  that  the  greater  number  of  the  his 
torical  gods  were  Huacas,  or  gods  of  towns  or  provinces, 
of  which  there  were  made  figures  of  stone  and  wood.  A 
large  number  of  them  were  destroyed  by  the  Spanish  con 
querors,  who,  in  their  religious  zeal  and  national  pride,  dis 
dained  to  preserve  the  laws  or  traditions  of  the  Indians  ;  and 
thus  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  thanks  to  the  strange 
course  of  Father  Arriaga,  we  have  so  slight  a  knowledge  of 
their  names  and  forms. 

The  most  interesting  of  the  Huacas  which  this  ardent  reli- 
gioso  destroyed  was  found  about  two  leagues  from  the  town 
of  Hilavi,  on  an  elevated  summit,  where  were  found  the 
sepulchres  of  Indians,  of  richly  sculptured  stone  chambers. 
There  was  here  a  statue,  three  times  a  man's  height,  and  of 
magnificently  sculptured  stone,  with  two  monstrous  figures 
beside  ;  one  of  a  man  who  looked  toward  the  west,  and  the 
other,  with  the  face  of  a  woman,  on  the  same  stone  at  the  back 
of  the  itrmer,  who  faced  the  east.  On  both  might  be  seen 
serpents,  which  were  twined  from  the  feet  to  the  head ;  and 
about  the  soles  of  the  feet  there  were  gathered  othter  reptiles, 
like  toads.  In  front  of  each  one  of  these  idols  was  a  square 
stone,  of  a  span  and  a  half  in  height,  which  seemed  to  serve 
as  an  altar.  In  order  to  break  in  pieces  so  valuable  a  monu 
ment,  the  Jesuit  Arriaga  employed  more  than  thirty  persons 
for  three  days. 

The  Huaca-Rimac  was  also  greatly  celebrated.     It  was  oa_ 
the  banks  of  a  river  of  the  same  name,   on  which  is  now 
situated  the  present  capital  of  Peru ;  the  name  of  which,  Lima, 
was  derived  from  the  name  of  the  idol  that  was  there.    It  had 
a  human  figure,  and  was  found  in  a  magnificent  temple,  in 


168  PEKU. 

which  oracular  responses  were  given  to  all  the  questions  put 
by  the  priests.  Not  only  throughout  the  nation  of  the 
YuncaSj  who  occupied  this  valley,  but  throughout  the  entire 
surrounding  country,  was  this  idol  worshipped ;  and  even 
from  distant  provinces  deputies  came  with  questions  and 
offerings.* 

Another  oracle  existed  in  the  province  of  Huamanchuco, 
the  famous  Iluaca-  Catequilla,  which  predicted  to  Tupac-Inca- 
Yupanqui,  who  consulted  it  by  means  of  his  priests  concern 
ing  the  result  of  the  campaign  which  he  was  going  to  under 
take  against  a  brother  of  his,  who  had  rebelled,  that  he 
should  die  in  battle;  and  this  was  verified.  The  son  of 
Tupac-Inca,  irritated  at  the  death  of  his  father,  destroyed  the 
temple  of  the  oracle ;  but  the  priests  resolved  to  place  the 
idol  in  safety,  and  carried  it  to  Cahuana,  where  they  built  it 
another  temple,  and  continued  its  worship. 

In  the  province  of  Manta  was  a  sumptuous  temple  dedi 
cated  to  Umina,  or  the  God  of  Health,  which  contained  an 
idol,  with  a  face  half  human,  made  of  an  emerald,  very 
precious,  well  guarded,  and  deeply  venerated. 

Another  famous  Huaca,  worshipped  by  several  provinces, 
was  Sanacmama,  which  Arriaga  found  in  the  territory  of 
Chanca.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  large  jar,  and  was  found  in 
the  centre-  of  eight  jars  of  similar  figure,  surrounded  by 
many  other  jars  and  pictures,  and  by  two  cups  of  clay,  with 

*  Tradition  relates  that  the  celebrated  temple  of  the  idol,  BIMAC,  in  the 
valley  of  Huatica,  was  contiguous  to  Limatambo  ;  and  that  the  destroyed 
town  has  passed  into  that  of  Magdalena.  There  exists  a  large  number 
of  Huacas,  of  different  sizes,  some  being  more  than  fifty  yards  in  length, 
and  about  fifteen  in  height,  from  Limatambo  to  Maranga.  In  one  of 
these  remained  for  a  long  time  the  Frenchman,  Hateo-  Salado,  who 
passed  for  a  hermit,  until  he  was  burnt  in  1573  by  the  horrible  tribunal 
of  the  Inquisition. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  169 

which  the  Indians  pledged  the  Huaca.  They  found  the 
great  jar  filled  with  chiclia,  which  age  had  converted  into 
water ;  and  near  it  many  cuys  (a  species  of  small  rabbit), 
and  other  sacrifices.  On  the  day  of  the  Corpus  Christi  the 
Indians  hold  a  festival,  taking  the  jar  from  its  place,  and 
covering  it  with  clothing,  similar  to  that  used  by  the  Pallas. 

In  the  town  of  Quichumarca  they  worshipped  the  Huaca 
Huari,  whom  the  Indians  considered  as  the  Deity  who  lent 
strength  when  they  were  about  to  build  houses  and  culti 
vate  land  ;  and  his  two  brothers,  all  of  horrible  aspect. 

The  Huaca  Clioquechuco  was  an  object  of  worship  in  a 
town  of  the  same  name,  as  also  the  Huaca- Humivillca,  and 
his  brothers.  The  first,  rudely  sculptured  in  stone,  of  the 
color  of  liver,  had  a  human  face,  and  was  seated  on  a  stone 
mortar. 

Near  the  town  of  Tamor  they  worshipped  a  large  stone, 
which  had  been  split  by  lightning.  They  called  it  the 
Huaca  Llipiac,  a  name  derived  from  the  lightning,  and  to 
it  was  offered  in  sacrifice  sheep,  gold,  and  silver.  The 
Huacas  Quenac  and  Quenac-IIuillca,  with  Indian  forms  with 
out  arms  or  feet,  and  of  furious  aspect,  were  also  worshipped 
in  several  towns.  In  the  same  town  of  Tamor  existed  the 
Huaca-Huayna-  Yurac,  son  of  Apu-  Yurac,  who  was  venerated 
in  the  ancient  town  of  Hupa ;  both  had  the  form  of  men 
seated  upon  small  plates  of  silver.  We  must  also  note  in  the 
town  of  C/iochas  the  Llaxclmillca,  in  the  form  of  an  Indian 
seated,  crestfallen,  and  one  eye  larger  than  the  other.  The 
race  of  Sopac  worshipped  the  Iluaca  Apu-Xillin,  and  his  son 
Huayna-Xillin,  probably  celebrated  ancestors  of  this  stock ; 
and  in  the  valley  of  Jauja  the  Iluancas  worshipped  the  cele 
brated  Huarivilca,  to  whom  they  had  constructed  a  sumptu 
ous  temple  near  a  fountain  of  the  same  name.  The  chroni 
clers  also  mention  the  Huacas  Huamantucoc  in  the  town  of 


170  PERU. 

QuepaSj  Mullu-  Cayan  and  Goto-  Tumac  in  the  ruins  of  Cocha- 
llipiac,  Umy  in  the  seat  of  Ghincas,  Yusca  in  the  town  of 
Cayna ;  as  also  the  Huacas  Xampay,  Atahuanca,  Pariacaca, 
Huanchorliuilka,  Hananttautu,  Quincanllautu,  Caxaparac, 
Sian-Achcay,  Chauca,  Churaquella,  Taucatanca,  and  many 
others  which  it  would  be  useless  to  enumerate :  and  it  is 
probable  that  all  those  mentioned  by  authors  constitute 
but  a  small  fraction  of  the  sum  total  of  them,  since  each 
town  had  its  protecting  God,  and  sometimes  several,  as  they 
had  been  more  or  less  celebrated,  and  more  or  less  venerated 
,in  the  surrounding  country.  They  generally  worshipped  on 
the  islands  of  the  coast,  Huacas,  whom  they  pretend  to  have 
been  creators  of  the  huanu,  [Guano],  and  at  the  season  of 
corn  gathering  they  went  with  rafts  and  barges  carrying 
chicha,  mullu,  garia  and  other  articles  of  sacrifice,  and  asked 
leave  to  bring  away  the  huanu. 

We  must  also  remark,  that  several  nations  worshipped 
different  animals :  thus  the  Collas  rendered  worship  to  sheep 
entirely  white,  as  in  Siam  was  done  to  elephants  of  the  same 
color:  the  Huancas  worshipped  dogs,  the  Antis  large  ser 
pents  (Amaru),  and  tigers  (uturunca),  etc. 

Individual  and  family  Deities  or  household  Gods  were 
innumerable  ;  each  house  and  individual  possessed  its  charac 
teristic  and  tutelar  divinity.  Among  the  former,  those 
deserving  of  special  mention,  were  the  so-called  Mallquis,  or 
manaos,  which  were  the  entire  bodies  of  the  ancestors  re 
duced  to  a  mummy  or  skeleton  state,  which  the  descendants 
piously  preserved  in  the  Machays  or  tombs,  arranged  in  such 
a  manner  that  they  might  easily  see  them  and  offer  them 
sacrifices  ;  at  the  same  time,  they  gave  them  food  and  drink, 
for  they  interred  with  them  vessels  and  dishes  which  they 
filled  from  time  to  time  with  food.  They  also  placed  at  the  side 
of  the  departed,  in  the  sepulchres;  arms,  utensils,  and  other 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  171 

spoils  which  they  had  used  in  life ;  thus,  if  the-  deceased 
were  a  warrior  they  interred  with  him  implements  of  war ; 
if  he  were  a  workman,  they  buried  with  him  signs  of  his 
trade ;  if  a  woman,  they  buried  spindles,  shuttles,  cotton, 
wool,  etc. 

Each  family  had  within  its  inheritance  a  large  stone, . 
placed  on  its  side,  in  the  field,  which  they  worshipped  with 
feasts  and  sacrifices:  they  called  them  Huanca,  chichi,  or 
Chacrayoc,  that  is,  master  of  the  field.  Similar  stones  they 
placed  in  the  canals  of  irrigation,  offering  sacrifice  to  them 
before  and  after  sowing  their  seed,  calling  them  Compa^  or 
Larca-huillana. 

The  household  Gods,  corresponding  with  the  Lares  and 
Penates  of  the  Komans,  were  of  divers  forms  and  material ; 
they  were  made  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  wood,  stone,  clay, 
etc.,  in  imitation  of  a  human  figure,  an  animal,  or  in  some 
capricious  and  extravagant  form.  The  whole  family  pro 
fessed  the  greatest  respect  for  these  Deities,  which  descended 
from  father  to  son,  and  of  which  the  eldest  brother  was  forced 
to  render  an  account  to  the  other  members  of  the  house. 

Each  one  might  have  an  indefinite  number  of  these  do 
mestic  deities,  a  circumstance  which  establishes  a  marked 
difference  between  Peru  and  Mexico,  where  the  number  of 
Lares  was  limited,  and  varied  according  to  the  persons ;  thus 
the  king  might  have  six,  the  nobles  four,  and  the  plebeian 
only  two. 

Under  the   collective  name  of  Conopa,*  or   Chanca,  the 

*  The  Quichua  word  Conopa  or  Canopa,  by  which  we  designate  in  the 
text  private  Deities,  or  Lares  of  the  ancient  Peruvians,  particularly  de 
serves  the  attention  of  learned  antiquaries,  by  its  coincidence  with  an 
Egyptian  word  which  signifies  the  same  object.  By  the  word  Canopus 
or  Canobus,  the  Egyptians  denominated  a  beneficent  spirit  or  tutelar 
god,  representing  it  under  the  form  of  a  bird  or  a  human  head. 


172  PERU. 

Peruvians  designated  all  the  minor  deities  worshipped  by 
single  families  and  individuals,  excepting  those  already  men 
tioned,  in  fields  and  canals.  They  counted  several  classes 
among  them,  although  they  applied  the  names  above  men 
tioned  particularly  to  individuals.  Every  small  stone  or 
piece  of  wood  of  singular  form  was  worshipped  as  a  Conopa. 
These  private  Deities  were  buried  with  their  owners,  and 
generally  hung  to  the  neck  of  the  dead.  Sometimes  they 
are  found  made  of  metal,  like  a  human  figure,  or  with  an 
allusion  to  some  event  in  the  life  of  the  individual  who  wor 
shipped  them. 

The  most  esteemed  Conopas  were  the  bezoar  stone  (Quicu\ 
and  the  small  crystals  of  quartz  rock  ( Quispi,  or  Llaca). 

The  Indians  derived  these  idols  from  those  events  which 
had  most  influenced  their  course  through  life,  and  which 
they  thus  commemorated ;  or  from  such  freaks  of  nature 
as  impressed  the  imagination,  and  thus  conduced  to  an  idol 
atrous  worship.  Corn  (Zard),  for  instance,  their  principal 
food,  was  the  origin  of  the  several  species  of  Zarapconopas. 
They  called  Zaramama,  certain  stones  cut  in  the  shape  of  ears 
of  corn,  and  certain  vessels  of  white  earth,  or  clay,  with  orna 
ments  like  wooden  sandals  or  shoes.  Another  class  of  Zara 
mama  consisted  of  a  doll  made  of  corn-stalks,  clothed  with 
anaco  and  Chilla,  [an  Indian  mantle]  and  topus  of  silver  such 
as  are  used  by  the  Indians.  The  corn-stalks  with  many  ears 
or  with  double  ears,  were  considered  as  sacred  things,  but 
not  as  Deities  ;  they  were  called  by  the  Indians  Huantazara 

They  also  call  Oanobus  the  four  vessels  which  are  found  in  the  four 
corners  of  the  Egyptian  mummies,  and  of  which  the  first  figure  is  a  bird, 
the  second  a  baboon,  the  third  a  sparrow-hawk,  and  the  fourth  a  human 
head. 

Oanobus  was  also  the  name  of  an  island  of  the  iWfe,  and  of  an  Egyptian 
city,  disgraced  by  the  luxury  of  its  inhabitants. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  173 

or  Aryhuazara,  because  they  danced  with  them  the  dance 
Arihuay,  when  the  corn  was  suspended  by  branches  of  willow ; 
in  the  same  way  did  they  worship  the  ears,  the  grains  of 
which  were  of  various  colors,  (Chuantayzara,  Micsazara,  or 
Cauttazara :)  or  were  arranged  in  rows,  united  in  the  shape 
of  a  cone  (Pirhuazara)*  Of  the  Quinua  and  Coca,  they 
made  their  Conopas  in  the  form  of  puppets,  as  they  did  of 
maize,  and  called  them  Quinuamama  and  Cocamama.  They 
also  held  in  great  veneration  the  knotted  roots  of  the  papas 
[a  species  of  pignut],  and  from  them  made  Conopas  (Axo- 
mama).  Twin  children,  if  dying  at  an  early  age,  were  pre 
served  in  earthen  pots,  and  were  worshipped  as  sacred  be 
ings,  supposing  that  one  of  them  was  the  son  of  the  thunder. 
They  gave  the  name  of  Chuchas  or  Cutis  to  the  corpses  of 
such  infants  ;  and  in  the  same  way  did  they  preserve  those 
children  who  were  born  feet  first  (Chacpas),  when  they  died 
in  early  youth. 

Many  and  various  Conopas  are  copied  from  the  Llamas, 
Alpacas,  Vicunas,  and  Huanacas:  and  these  idols  are  made 
of  basalt,  of  black  stone,  of  porphyry,  carbonate  of  lime, 
granite,  clay,  silver,  and  even  of  gold.  The  first  of  these 
animals  is  represented  almost  invariably  without  feet,  with  a 
cavity  in  the  back,  wherein  they  placed  grains  of  corn  in 
sacrifice.  And  among  the  Conopas,  has  been  found  the  re 
presentation  of  a  sheep  in  silver,  so  well  soldered,  that  with 
difficulty  only  can  the  union  of  the  different  parts  be  per 
ceived.  They  also  worshipped  as  Conopas  other  less  useful 
animals,  such  as  deer,  monkeys,  mountain  cats,  parrots, 
lizards,  fishes,  etc.,  which  they  made  of  clay  and  hollowed  out 

*  Even  at  the  present  day,  the  grains  of  different  colors,  or  of  sin 
gular  shape,  are  dedicated  to  the  saints  and  hung  in  the  niches. 


174  PERU. 

in  the  form  of  small  vessels,  which  they  inter  with  the  dead, 
for  the  purpose  of  pouring  into  them  the  Chicha  of  sacrifice. 

The  following  pages  contain  a  chapter  of  the  "  Pastoral 
Letter  of  exhortion  and  instruction  concerning  the  idolatries 
of  the  Indians  in  the  archbishopric  of  Lima,  by'  the  illus 
trious  Doctor  Don  Pedro  de  Villa  Gomez,  archbishop  of 
Lima,  to  his  visitors  of  idolatries,  his  vicars,  and  curates  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Indians  (Lima,  1649) ;"  and  will  serve 
to  furnish  some  idea  of  the  idolatries  which  existed  among 
the  Indians  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  which  are 
even  at  the  present  day  partly  observed,  as  some  of  the 
curates  have  assured  us. 

Chapter  58.  How  to  examine  a  wizard  or  other  Indian 
who  comes  to  show  himself,  and  give  information  of  the 
huacas. 

"  The  examination  will  consist  of  the  following  questions. 
I.  If  the  search  is  in  a  town  of  the  /Sierra,  we  must  ask  the 
Indian ;  if  it  is  Llacuaz,  or  Huari,  and  if  they  call  it  Huari 
or  Llactayoc,  then  all  the  natives  of  that  town,  and  all  their 
ancestors,  have  had  no  knowledge  of  having  come  from 
any  place  abroad ;  for  Llacahuaz  is  the  name  used  by  those 
who  (although  natives  of  the  town,  they  and  their  fathers, 
and  their  ancestors,)  did  originally  come  from  other  coun 
tries.  And  thus  is  preserved  among  the  races  this  distinction 
in  many  places,  and  the  Llacuaces,  as  foreigners,  have  many 
huacas,  and  much  worship,  and  venerate  their  Malquis,  which, 
as  we  have  said,  are  the  bodies  of  their  ancestors.  And  the 
Huaris,  who  are  the  founders,  have  many  huacas,  and  both 
one  and  the  other  believe  and  relate  their  stories,  which 
throw  much  light  upon  their  idolatries.  For  these  and  other 
reasons  it  is  well  to  go  among  the  different  tribes  or  races, 
and  to  learn  their  factions  and  enmities,  and  to  distinguish 


PERU VI AN  ANTIQUITIES.  175 

thereby  between  them :  for  by  this  means,  one  will  come  to 
know  the  huacas  of  one  from  another,  and  it  is  well  to  im 
prove  such  an  occasion  whenever  it  offers. 

In  order  to  ascertain  what  stock  or  race  the  Indian  belongs 
to,  we  must  propose  the  following  questions : — 

II.  What  is  the  name  of  the  principal  huaca  of  this  nation, 
which  all  adore  ? 

III.  Is  this  huaca  some  sceptre,  or  large  rock,  or  small 
stone  ?     Discover  as  far  as  possible  all  circumstances  and 
signs  connected  with  it. 

IY.  Has  this  huaca  a  son,  who  may  be  a  stone,  and  a  huaca 
like  itself,  or  has  it  father,  brother  or  wife  ?  This  question 
must  be  asked  because  the  principal  huacas  always  have  their 
traditions,  that  they  had  sons,  and  that  they  were  men  who 
were  converted  into  stones,  etc. 

Y.  Who  keeps  this  huaca  f 

VI.  What  other  huacas  are  worshipped  by  the  nation  ? 

VII.  What  huaca  do  they  invoke  for  the  habitations,  and 
for  the  corn,  or  for  potatoes ;  or  what  huaca  do  they  invoke 
for  the  increase  of  gain  or  of  the  cuyes  [a  small  animal  like 
a  rabbit]. 

VIII.  Whether  they  have  Cocamama  or  Zaramama? 

IX.  What  huacas  they  invoke  in  their  dwellings  for  the 
increase  of  them,  whom  they  call  Chacrayoc? 

X.  What  springs  or  lakes  they  worship  ? 

XI.  What  they  call  their  little  bird,  and  why  they  always 
worship  it? 

XII.  What  they  call  the  Marcayoc  or  Marcachacra  ?  which 
is,  as  it  were,  the  patron  and  advocate  of  the  people,  and  is 
sometimes  of  stone  and  sometimes  the  body  of  some  of 
their  progenitors,  who,  they  suppose,  was  the  first  that  peo 
pled  that  land ;  and  so  we  must  ask  whether  it  is  a  stone  or 
a  body. 


176  PERU. 

XIII.  How  they  call  the  huaca  which  they  invoke  for 
rain?  This  may  sometimes  be  a  stone,  and  sometimes  a 
thunderbolt ;  and  although  they  say  that  it  is  called  Liuiac 
[in  Peruvian,  a  thunderbolt],  we  must  still  ask  the  question, 
if  it  be  a  stone. 

XIY.  What  they  call  the  huaca  which  they  invoke  in 
order  to  prevent  the  channels  for  irrigation  from  being  ob 
structed  ? 

XY.  What  huaca  they  invoke  to  prevent  too  much  rain, 
and  to  secure  enough  ? 

XVI.  What  huaca  they  invoke  that  the  corn  may  grow 
well  ?  and  that  it  may  not  be  destroyed  by  worms  ?     From 
what  lake  they  draw  pitchers  of  water,  to  sprinkle  their 
dwellings  and  seek  rain?   into  what  lake  do  they  throw 
stones  that  it  may  not  dry  up,  and  that  rain  may  fall  ? 

XVII.  To  what  huaca  do  they  offer  twins,  which  they  call 
Chuchu  or  Ouri;  or  the  child  which  is  born  feet  first  which 
they  call  Chacpa? 

XVIII.  What  huaca  belongs   to  the  prince?   which  is 
always  very  celebrated. 

XIX.  What  huaca  they  invoke  when  they  go  to  pay  the 
tax  on  dwellings,  mansions,  manufactures  or  mines,  that  they 
may  return  well  and  promptly,  and  that  the  Spaniards  may 
not  ill  treat  them  ?  and  what  ceremonies  do  they  use  for  all 
these  things  ? 

XX.  We  must  also  ask  them,  in  speaking  of  the  Huaca, 
where  it  is,  and  how  situated ;  what  its  garments,  what  its 
ornaments,  and  all  other  circumstances  relating  to  it,  which 
we  can,  that  they  may  not  give  one  thing  for  another,  and  a 
fancied  Huaca  for  one  that  does  exist ;  and  we  must  believe 
as  truth  what  has  been  related  many  times,  and,  if  possible, 
go  at  once  to  where  it  is. 

XXI.  What  Halqids  they  worship  ?     Whether  they  are 


PERUVIAN"  ANTIQUITIES.  177 

the  bodies  of  tlieir  progenitors,  and  how  the  father  is  called  ? 
How  many  sons  he  had  ?  Where  they  are,  in  what  cave,  or 
Machay,  an  din  what  condition? 

XXII.  What  Conopa  or  Chanca  they  have?     .(Which  is 
their  household  god),  and  whether  it   is  Micuy-Conopa,  or 
Zarapconopa,    or    Llamaconopa,    if     it    is    the     Conopa    of 
corn,  or  of  grain,  and  whether  all  the  other  Indians  possess 
them  ?  and  to  this  question  we  must  urge  an  answer,  for  we 
have  proved  how   much   easier  it   is   to   discover  general 
Huacas  than  private  ones  which  each  one  possesses. 

XXIII.  In  order  to  examine  the  wizard,  we  must  ask 
whether  he  is  Villac  or  Huacalmanrimac,  which  is  he  who 
speaks  with  the  Huaca,  and  offers  sacrifices  to  it ;  or  whether 
it  is  Humumaxa,  who  is  the  most  frequently  consulted,  or 
Rapiac  ?  or  Socyac  ?  or  Pachacuc  f  or  'Asuac  ?  or  Yanapac  f 
or  a  wizard?  and  if  he  speaks  with  the  Devil,  and  in  what 
shape  or  form  he  appears  to  him  ? 

XXIY.  We  must  also  ask  what  feasts  they  celebrate,  at 
what  seasons,  and  with  what  ceremonies  ?  because  they  have 
a  variety  of  them  in  different  places,  and  particularly 
whether  they  have  confessed  to  the  witch  ?  In  the  provinces 
of  Caxatambo  and  Ouailas  may  be  asked :  Hucliaiquiia-auca- 
cucchucanqui?  "  hast  thou  confessed  thy  sins  to  the  witch?" 
and  we  must  ask,  with  what  ceremonies  ? 

XXY.  On  what  days  do  they  drink,  and  what  dances  do 
they  dance,  and  what  songs  do  they  siog  during  the  feasts 
of  the  Huacas,  and  where  they  meet  to  confess  on  these  days 
with  their  wizards  ?  Whether  they  have  appointed  places 
for  this  purpose,  which  they  call  Cayan  ? 

XXYI.  What  dead  bodies  of  Chuchus  [twins]  or  Chacpas 
[born  feet  first]  they  have  in  their  houses,  or  who  has  any 
such ;  and  whether  any  such,  either  living  or  dead,  have 
been  baptized,  which  they  are  not  accustomed  to  do  ? 
8* 


178  PEEU. 

XXVII.  Who  cut  the  hair  of  their  sons  ?  And  who 
keeps  it  ? 

XXYIII.  Whether  any  dead  bodies  have  been  disinterred 
from  the  churches  ?  and  whose  ?  and  where  have  they  been 
placed  ? 

XXIX.  What  places  are  those  which  are  called  Apachita 
and  Tocanca.)  and  where  are  they  situated  ? 

XXX.  From  what  place,  and  at  what  season  do  they  wor 
ship  the  sun  and  the  thunderbolt  ?     And  what  witch  is  the 
Liuac-villac  ?     Who  has  the  power  of  invoking  him,  and  who 
is  the  Malquwillac? 

XXXI.  Who  worships  the  Sierra  nevada  and   the  sea, 
when  they  go  to  the  plains,  drawing  out  their  eyebrows  ? 

XXXII.  What  wizards  take  charge  of  the  feasts  and  fasts, 
cause  the   Chicha  to  be  made,  and  teach  the  youths  their 
idolatries  and  superstitions  ? 

XXXIII.  Who  places  parianas  [a  species  of  Flamingo] 
for  the  safety  of  dwellings  ? 

XXXIY.  What  articles  do  they  offer  to  the  Jiuacas  ?  and 
whether  they  have  domestic  animals  and  dwellings?  Who 
is  the  major-domo  of  the  dwellings  of  the  Jiuacas ,  which  are 
called  Pachacac  ? 

XXXV.  The  wizard  must  be  asked,  when  he  goes  to  con 
sult  the  Huaca,  what  answers  he  gives  the  Indians  ?  and  how 
he  is  able  to  feign  the  speech  of  the  Huaca  ?  and  if  he  tells 
you  that  when  he  speaks  to  the  Huaca  he  becomes  mad 
(which  he  will  tell  you  many  times),  we  must  ask  whether  it 
is  from  the  chicha  which  he  drank,  or  from  the  effects  of  the 
Demon  ? 

XXXVI.  In  the  past  visit,  what  was  done  against  the 
idolatries  ?  what  idols  did  the  Indians  cease  to  make  use  of  ? 
and  of  those  which  are  left,  what  pieces  over  and  above  are 
kept,  and  where  are  they  now  ? 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  179 

XXXVII.  We  must  inquire,  with  modesty  and  prudence, 
if  there  are  any  persons  which  are  not  baptized,  because  they 
sometimes  conceal  persons,  to  prevent   their  baptism,  and 
especially  those  which  are  born  in  the  out  stations  and  in  the 
fields  ;  and  the  Indian  women  have  also  been  known  to  say, 
in  order  to  get  rid  of  their  husbands,  that  they  were  never 
baptized.       Much    of  this    is   attributable  to.  malice   and 
ignorance. 

XXXVIII.  Finally,  we  must  ask  for  tne  estate  which  the 
huaca  has,  and  whether  he  has  money ;  whether  this  is  only 
in  the  power  of  him  who  keeps  it,  or  in  the  same  place  with 
the  huaca  •  and  whether  he  has  gold  or  silver,  Huamas,  Ghacra^ 
Ilincas,  or  Tincurpas,  or  Aquillas,  with  which  they  give  them 
to  drink." 

As  to  this  resume"  of  the  religious  system  of  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  the  reader  well  versed  in  the  study  of  idolatrous 
religion  will  note  that  this  deification  of  exterior  objects, 
which  infuses  ideas  of  sublimity  and  power,  is  very  analo 
gous  to  the  pantheism  of  oriental  India,  as  it  is  understood 
by  the  populace ;  without  doubt  the  worship  of  animals  and 
vegetables,  and  above  all  their  veneration  for  corpses,  recalls 
the  religion  of  the  ancient  Egyptains,  fully  described  by 
Herodotus,  Diodorus  Siculus,  and  many  modern  authors.  At 
the  same  time,  the  idea  of  motherhood  (Mama)  which  is 
applied  to  terrestrial  bodies,  is  a  profoundly  metaphysical 
and  elevated  idea,  professed  by  some  ancient  philosophers, 
and  especially  by  Plato,  who  uses  the  same  word  to  designate 
ideas  or  archetypes,  that  is,  the  spiritual  essence  of  things. 

We  will  now  pass  to  the  examination  of  another  question, 
which  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  learned ;  and  it  is 
the  analogy  of  certain  institutions  and  religious  ceremonies 
of  the  Peruvians,  with  the  Christian  sacraments.  The  priests 
in  the  earlier  days  of  the  conquest,  considered  these  coinci- 


180  PERU. 

dences  as  snares  laid  by  the  prince  of  darkness,  who  for  the 
better  securing  of  his  victims  copied  the  sacred  rites  of 
Christianity.  Such  is  the  opinion  of  Acosta,  Herrera,  and 
Gieca  de  Leon:  the  latter  assures  us  that  Satan  in  person 
appeared  at  the  feasts  of  the  Indians,  in  order  to  appro 
priate  their  worship.  Taking  a  different  view,  other  critics 
have  explained  these  remarkable  resemblances  to  the  customs 
of  evangelical  religion,  by  considering  them  as  the  remains 
of  the  Christian  worship,  established  primarily  in  these  re 
gions,  and  that  the  corruption  has  arisen  from  the  influence 
of  the  neighboring  or  conquered  nations,  the  emigrations 
of  the  people,  or  that  unhappy  tendency  to  the  grossness  of 
idolatry  which  is  a  frightful  consequence  of  the  fall  of  man, 
and  which  has  been  so  strikingly  exemplified  in  the  history 
of  the  chosen  people.  Those  who  support  this  opinion, 
attribute  to  Saints  Bartholomew  and  Thomas,  the  scattering 
in  these  distant  regions  the  evangelical  seed  which  the 
Spaniards  found  bearing  but  imperfect  fruit,  and  which  was 
almost  choked  by  the  weeds  sown  by  the  eriemy.  Finally, 
the  rationalists  speak  ironically  of,  both  opinions,  and  con 
sider  such  likenesses  as  coincidences  partly  fortuitous,  and 
partly  the  necessary  and  natural  results  of  the  condition  of 
man.  Our  intention  is  to  describe  with  accuracy  the  Peru 
vian  rites,  declining  'to  discuss  the  greater  or  less  value  of 
the  opinions  quoted,  being  unwilling  to  lose  ourselves  in 
conjectures  upon  the  real  or  imaginary  connection  of  both 
religions. 

Baptism  was  general  among  all  the  Peruvian  nations  west 
of  the  Andes,  and  in  some  provinces  took  place  two  or  three 
weeks  after  the  birth.  The  father  of  the  family  imposed  the 
name  upon  the  child,  with  certain  ceremonies,  which  we  do 
not  circumstantially  know.  In  the  provinces  of  the  South 
and  in  Cuzco,  the  child  was  weaned  at  the  age  of  two  years 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  181 

and  then  baptized.  At  this  ceremony  were  assembled  all 
the  relatives,  and  one  of  them,  elected  god-father,  cut  with 
a  stone  knife  part  of  the  hair  with  which  the  child  had  been 
born,  an  example  which  was  followed  by  the  rest  of  the 
relatives,  until  the  head  was  completely  shorn ;  then  the  name 
was  given  by  the  god-father,  and  each  one  of  the  witnesses 
offered  it  a  present.  On  the  day  of  the  birth,  the  water  in 
which  the  infant  was  washed  was  poured  into  a  hole,  excavated 
in  the  earth,  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  minor  priests,  or 
of  a  wizard  who  pronounced  cabalistic  words  over  the  newly- 
born,  to  conjure  away  and  exorcise  all  future  malign  influ 
ence.  Such  are  the  ceremonies  of  the  Peruvian  Baptism, 
which,  with  the  exception  of  imposing  the  name,  has  but 
little  resemblance  to  the  Christian  sacrament. 

Confirmation,  which  was  a  species  of  second  baptism,  took  - 
place  when  the  child  attained  to  puberty,  that  is,  when 
the  boy  first  puts  on  the  shirt  and  blanket,  and  upon  the 
appearance  of  the  catamenia  in  the  girl.  This  epoch  was 
not  for  the  family  alone,  but  for  the  whole  race  or  lineage. 
And  there  followed  the  ceremony,  a  day  of  feasting,  cele 
brated  with  dancing  and  drunkenness.  The  chief  of  the 
race  gave  to  the  boy  or  girl  who  had  reached  this  age  a 
second  name,  distinct  from  the  first,  and  the  hair  and  finger 
nails  of  the  confirmed  were  cut  and  sacrificed  to  their  Conopas, 
Huacas,  or  one  of  the  greater  Deities.  This  ceremony  com 
pleted,  the  child  was  considered  a  man  or  woman. 

Penance  was  practised  among  the  Indians  with  the  greatest 
scrupulosity.  Before  the  principal  feasts,  they  confessed 
their  sins  to  the  priests  (Aucanchic  or  Ychuris),  and  they  pre 
viously  fasted  several  days.  At  the  beginning,  the  priest 
placed  a  few  of  the  ashes  of  the  burnt  sacrifices  upon  a  stone, 
which  the  penitent  blew  into  the  air.  He  afterward  received 
a  small  stone  (Parca),  and  went  to  wash  his  head  in  a  Tincuna, 


182  PERU. 

or  place  where  two  rivulets  meet,  or  some  other  sacred  place, 
reserved  for  this  purpose.  Presently,  returning  to  the  Priest, 
he  said:  "Hear  me,  high-lands,  plains,  condors,  which  fly, 
owls,  grubs,  and  all  animals  and  herbs,  know  that  I  wish  to 
confess  my  sins."  Upon  beginning  the  confession  the  priest 
placed  a  small  ball  of  colored  clay  upon  the  thorn  of  a  gigan- 
ton  (Cactus) ;  and  when  it  was  done,  he  transfixed  the  ball 
with  the  thorn  until  it  burst  and  fell  to  the  ground.  If  it 
divided  into  three  parts,  the  confession  was  good ;  if  into  two 
only,  it  was  bad,  and  the  penitent  was  obliged  to  recommence. 
He,  to  prove  that  nothing  had  been  concealed,  was  required 
to  throw  a  handful  of  corn  into  a  vessel,  and  if  the  number 
of  the  grains  thrown  in  was  even,  the  confession  had  been  well 
made ;  if  uneven,  it  was  thought  unavailing.  The  penance 
imposed  by  the  priest  consisted  in  an  abstinence  from  salt, 
garlic  and  coition :  as  also  in  corporal  punishment,  such  as 
the  lash,  etc.  Sometimes  they  were  forced  to  put  on  new 
garments,  in  order  that  the  sins  might  be  left  in  the  old  ones. 

In  the  distribution  of  bread  and  the  sacred  chicha,  made 
for  the  Inca,  to  the  Lords  or  Nobles  of  the  court,  in  the  feast 
of  Mosoc-nina  or  "  renovation  of  the  sacred  lire,"  the  Span 
iards  found  much  analogy  to  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist. 
(See  chapters  6th  and  8th.) 

There  were  also  certain  ceremonies  somewhat  similar  to 
" Extreme  Unction"  since  the  priests,  physicians,  wizards, 
and  witches  assisted  the  dying,  muttering  incantations  against 
the  power  of  the  devil. 

Holy  orders,  or  the  ceremony  of  the  consecration  of  priests, 
was  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance  among  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  and  was  only  conferred  upon  those  youths  who 
had  given  sufficient  proof  that  they  were  worthy  of  being 
exalted  to  the  dignity  of  so  high  an  office.  The  priesthood 
contained  a  large  number  of  members  who.  according  to  the 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  183 

Deity  they  served,  were  found  distributed  among  several 
classes.  The  greater  respect  was  commanded  by  those  of 
the  Sun  (Intip-huillac\  of  which  we  have  spoken  in  the  be- ' 
ginning  of  this  chapter.  In  the  province  of  the  Yungas, 
those  of  Pachacamac  were  the  chief.  Each  Huaca  had  its 
priest,  who  was  respected  in  proportion  as  the  huaca  was 
venerated.  His  occupation  was  to  take  care  of  the  Deity, 
watch  in  his  temple,  on  the  spot  where  his  image  was 
erected,  to  speak  with  him,  and  repeat  his  answers  to  the 
questions  of  the  people;  present  their  offerings,  make  the 
sacrifices,  celebrate  their  feasts,  and  teach  their  worship. 
The  same  employments  occupied  the  priests  of  the  dead 
(Mallqidp  huillac),  those  of  the  thunder  Laipiacpa-huillac), 
and  those  of  the  other  Deities. 

The  Conopas  had  also  priests,  but  to  a  certain  point,  each 
individual  was  his  own  priest :  and  if  he  wished  to  ask  any 
thing  of  these  Penates,  they  were  carried  to  the  priest,  called 
Macsa  or  Viha,  and  through  him  the  service  was  performed. 

The  soothsayers  and  wizards  formed  a  particular  subdivi 
sion  of  the  priesthood,  as  they  were  obliged  to  give  adequate 
proofs  of  their  sufficiency  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of 
the  office.  Those  most  esteemed  were  the  Socyac,  who  pre 
dicted  the  future,  by  means  of  small  heaps  of  corn ;  the 
Paccharicuc  (Pacchacuti  or  Pacchecuc\  who  divined  by  means 
of  spiders'  feet,  called  Pacchac,  who  sought  for  that  species 
of  the  insect  which  is  concealed  in  walls,  or  under  stones,  and 
placing  them  upon  a  blanket,  persecuted  them  with  a  straw, 
until  they  broke  one  or  two  feet,  and  then  they  predicted 
by  those  which  were  wanting:  the  Hacaricuc  or  Cuyricuc, 
•who  foretold  by  the  blood  and  intestines  of  the  Guys  or 
rabbits ;  the  Pichiuricuc,  who  observed  the  flight  of  birds ; 
the  Moscoc,  who  interpreted  dreams,  sleeping  by  the  head  or 


184  PERU. 

clothes  of  him  who  consulted  them,  and  receiving  in  a  dream 
the  answer.  The  office  of  this  order  of  the  priesthood,  and 
even  that  of  confessor,  pertained  in  common  to  men  and 
women,  but  the  men  alone  could  exercise  the  office  of  priest 
to  the  superior  Deities.* 

The  priests  who  spoke  with  the  Huacas  were  accustomed 
to  put  themselves  into  an  ecstatic  state,  by  means  of  a  narco 
tic  beverage,  called  Tonca,  made  of  the  fruit  of  a  species  of 
thorn-apple,  Datura  sanguined,  or  Huacacacha,  that  is,  herb  of 
ffuaca,  and  in  this  state  they  received  inspiration. 

Very  meritorious  was  it  of  the  Incas,  to  have  established 
the  laws  of  matrimony,  and  to  have  instituted  certain  con 
ditions,  indispensable  to  the  performance  of  the  ceremony. 

In  the  earlier  times  of  Peru  the  union  of  the  sexes  was 
voluntary,  unregulated,  and  accompanied  by  barbarous 
usages :  many  of  which  even  at  the  present  day  exist  among 
the  uncivilized  nations  of  South  America.  The  Incas  abol- 

*  Even  at  the  present  day  some  of  these  impostors  are  known  in 
various  parts  of  the  Sierra  and  Don  Mariano  E.  de  Rivero,  being  prefect 
of  the  department  of  Junin,  the  curate  of  Huariaca,  and  many  of  the 
inhabitants  related  to  him  many  curious  and  strange  cases  of  witchcraft, 
producing  lameness,  sickness,  and  insanity  by  placing  dolls  of  cloth  pinned 
together  with  the  thorns  of  the  cactus  within  mattresses,  pillows,  in  holes 
about  the  house,  and  in  cellars.  Of  these  witches  some  were  burned 
on  their  own  confessions,  and  by  reason  of  this,  as  the  common  people 
believed,  the  afflicted  were  cured.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Valley  of 
Majes  were  persuaded  that  the  Jcara,  as  it  is  called,  a  species  of  eruptive 
disease  which  shows  itself  in  red.  white  and  blue  spots  on  the  face,  arms, 
and  feet  of  the  common  people,  is  produced  by  a  drink  composed  of  corn 
placed  in  a  pot  with  a  large  toad,  which  being  afterwards  ground  and 
made  into  a  beverage  is  drunk  in  pledges,  by  jealous  women  and  such  as 
are  forsaken  by  their  lovers.  This  disease  is  cured  in  the  beginning  with 
sudorifics  and  certain  ptisans,  which  the  old  female  quacks  keep  a  pro 
found  secret.  These  spotted  persons  are  called  Karientos. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  185 

ished  these  rude  customs,  and  fixed  conditions  under  which 
matrimony  might  take  place ;  which  were  the  following :  the 
bridegroom  and  bride  must  be  of  the  same  town  or  tribe, 
and  of  the  same  class  or  position ;  the  former  must  be  some 
what  less  than  twenty -four  years  old,  the  latter  eighteen. 
The  consent  of  the  parents  and  chiefs  of  the  tribe  was  indis 
pensable  ;  the  bridegroom  must  provide  all  that  was  neces 
sary  for  the  house,  which  the  whole  town  itiust  assist  him  in 
building ;  the  furniture  which  the  bride  should  bring  to  her 
husband  was  supplied  by  the  parents;  all  the  marriages 
must  take  place  on  an  appointed  day,  and  in  the  presence  of 
the  governor  of  the  province.  The  Inca  himself  presided 
at  the  unions  of  the  royal  family,  as  monarch  and  high 
priest,  and  taking  by  the  hand  the  different  parties  to  be 
united,  he  gave  them  to  each  other  and  pronounced  them  to 
be  man  and  wife;  in  the  same  manner  did  the  curacas 
[princes  of  conquered  provinces]  unite  the  couples  belong 
ing  to  his  class,  or  of  other  inferiors  in  their  districts,  with 
out  the  intervention  of  the  priest.  They  then  celebrated  the 
wedding  with  splendid  banquets  and  balls,  more  or  less 
luxurious,  as  the  means  of  the  parties  permitted. 

Polygamy  was  one  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  royal  family 
and  nobles,  but  the  sovereign  alone  could  have  more  than  one 
wife  and  an  unlimited  number  of  concubines.  Gentlemen 
were  permitted  to  have  some,  but  one  proper  wife  only. 
With  the  permission  of  the  governor  of  the  province,  or  head 
of  the  tribe,  and  by  means  of  a  legal  sentence,  a  divorce 
might  be  obtained,  provided  mutual  consent  was  obtained  or 
on  account  of  serious  charges ;  and  it  is  a  singular  fact  that 
the  adultery  of  the  husband  was  unpunished,  if  with  a  spinster, 
but  loss  of  life  was  the  penalty  for  all  unfaithfulness  com 
mitted  with  a  married  woman. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  the  woman  might  choose 


186  PEEU. 

widowhood  or  be  buried  alive  with  her  husband.  Among 
the  Incas  and  nobles  it  was  the  custom  to  bury  the  legiti 
mate  wives,  the  favorite  concubines,  a  considerable  number 
more  or  less  of  servants,  as  also  jewels,  wrought  silver, 
llamas,  arms,  provisions  and  clothing.  Some  of  the  persons 
who  were  to  accompany  the  deceased  monarch  to  the  tomb, 
manifested  repugnance  at  such  a  sacrifice ;  but  generally  the 
wives  and  servants  offered  themselves  voluntarily,  and  there 
are  even  instances  of  wives  who  preferred  suicide  to  prove  their 
conjugal  devotion,  when  they  were  prevented  from  descending 
to  the  grave  with  the  body  of  their  consort.  The  wife  or 
servant  who  preferred  life  to  the  act  of  martyrdom  which 
was  to  attest  their  fidelity,  was  an  object  of  general  contempt, 
and  devoted  or  doomed  to  a  life  worse  than  death.  This 
custom  introduced  by  the  Incas,  which  reminds  one  of  the 
customs  of  the  widows  of  Malabar,  of  burning  themselves 
in  the  blaze  which  consumed  the  remains  of  their  husbands, 
deserves  the  special  attention  of  the  learned  and  the  archae 
ologist. 

Gardlasso  De  la  Vega  (Eoyal  Comm.  L,  Book  II.  Chap,  III.) 
relates  that  the  Incas  had  in  Cuzco  a  cross  cut  of  white  and 
red  marble  (crystallized  jasper),  three-quarters  of  a  yard  in 
length,  in  a  sacred  place  (Huaca),  which  was  held  in  great 
veneration  ;*  and  in  the  ruins  of  Coati  are  several  crosses 
cut  in  a  wall.  It  would  be  erroneous  to  deduce  from  these 
crosses  any  inference  as  to  a  connection  between  the  Peru 
vian  religion  and  the  Christian.  The  cross  is  a  figure  so 
simply  and  easily  represented  in  design  and  sculpture,  that 
it  exists  as  an  ornament  among  almost  all  barbarous 
nations.  A  flute  of  Pan,  found  in  Peru,  was  adorned  with 
twelve  Maltese  crosses. 

*  See  also  Garcilasso,  Comment,  Part  II.,  Book  I.  Chap.  XXXJI. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

KELIGIOUS     CEREMONIES. 

IN  each  month  of  the  year  the  Peruvians  held  feasts,  but 
the  principal  ones  related  to  the  Sun,  and  they  celebrated 
the  four  great  periods  of  its  annual  progress,  the  solstices 
and  the  equinoxes  (see  Chapter  VI.)  The  most  solemn  of  all 
was  the  feast  of  Raymi  or  Intip-Raymi,  celebrated  in  the 
summer  solstice,  when  the  Sun,  having  arrived  at  the  farthest 
point  of  his  meridional  career,  returns  on  his  course  to  the 
north. 

This  feast  was  in  token  of  gratitude  and  thankfulness  for 
the  benefits  which  the  nation  enjoyed,  and  for  which  they 
were  indebted  to  the  Deity,  the  feast  of  profound  adoration 
to  the  supreme  Nume?i,  and,  consequently,  was  solemnized 
with  the  same  piety  throughout  all  the  countries  governed 
by  the  sceptre  of  the  Incas.  There  were  assembled  at  it  the 
chiefs  and  princes  of  the  empire ;  and  those  who,  because  of 
their  indisposition,  age,  or  services,  could  not  attend,  sent 
their  sons  or  relations,  with  the  most  noble  lords  of  the  ter 
ritory.  They  all  came  in  their  greatest  court  dress,  and 
splendid  arms,  each  one  with  his  national  garb,  rivalling  each 
other  among  themselves  by  the  blazonry  of  their  heraldry 
and  richness  of  their  adornments.  The  multitude  was  in 
numerable,  as  well  nobles  as  plebeians,  who  indeed  assem 
bled  at  the  capital  in  such  numbers,  that  there  was  no  room 
in  houses  to  receive  the  strangers,  and  the  greater  part  were 


188  PERU. 

obliged  to  encamp  in  the  public  squares  and  in  the  streets. 
•From  the  neighboring  provinces,  many  women  were  also 
•sent  to  dress  the  food  of  these  multitudes,  and  chiefly  to 
knead  a  species  of  cake  of  boiled  corn,  called  zancu,  and  eaten 
only  at  the  solemn  feasts.  The  virgins  of  the  Sun  prepared 
for  the  Inca  and  the  nobles  of  the  empire  this  food  with  other 
dishes  the  night  before.  The  feast  was  preceded  by  three 
days  of  rigorous  fasting,  during  which  time  the  only  food 
consisted  of  a  little  white  raw  corn,  and  a  certain  herb  called 
Chucan;  at  the  same  time,  no  fire  was  permitted  to  be 
kindled  in  any  house. 

In  order  to  solemnize  still  further  this  feast,  the  Inca  pre 
sided,  accompanied  by  his  court.  In  the  first  place,  the 
monarch  left  the  palace,  followed  by  the  royal  family,  and 
passed  barefoot  through  the  square  Haucaypata,  to  salute  the 
rising  of  the  Sun.  The  retinue  -which  accompanied  the 
monarch  were  clothed  in  their  best  garbs,  and  the  nobles,  in 
ostentatious  rivalry,  displayed  a  profusion  of  jewels  and  or 
naments;  whilst  the  canopies  of  brilliant  feathers  and 
splendid  cloths,  which  the  servants  carried  to  protect  the 
heads  of  the  Lords,  caused  the  square  and  streets  through 
which  they  passed  to  seem,  as  it  were,  covered  with  a  magni 
ficent  awning. 

Hardly  had  the  first  rays  gilded  the  summits  of  the  neigh 
boring  high-land,  when  a  loud  shout  of  joy  burst  from  the 
multitude,  with  songs  of  triumph  and  clamorous  music  on 
rude  instrui  pnts,  the  boisterous  noise  of  which  increased  in 
proportion  as  the  God,  in  his^rising  course,  shed  his  rays  on 
the  people.  The  excited  multitude  raised  their  arms,  kissed 
the  air,  and  inhaled  the  delightful  atmosphere  impregnated 
with  light.  Then  the  Inca  rose,  took  two  aqidllas  (vases  of 
gold),  filled  with  cJiicha,  prepared  by  the  chosen  virgins ; 
sacrificed  the  one  in  the  right  hand  to  the  Sun,  pouring  the 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  189 

liquor  into  a  receptacle,  from  which  ran  a  sewer  cut  in  the 
rock  to  the  temple  of  the  divinity ;  and  with  that  in  the  left 
hand  he  pledged  his  family,  pouring  out  to  each  one  of  the 
members  a  quantity  of  the  sacred  liquor  in  a  small  vase  of 
gold.  The  Caracas  went  to  the  adjoining  square  (Cusipata), 
and  also  worshipped  the  Sun  in  the  East,  under  the  direction 
of  a  priestly  Inca,  who  distributed  among  them  the  same 
beverage. 

Afterward,  the  monarch,  accompanied  by  the  royal  family 
and  the  Curacas,  went  in  procession  to  the  temple,  and  there 
offered  their  golden  vases  to  the  image  of  the  Sun.  Only 
to  the  sovereign  and  his  family,  however,  was  an  entrance 
into  the  sacred  precinct  permitted.  All  the  others  presented 
by  the  hands  of  the  priests  their  rich  and  numerous  sacrifi 
ces  to  the  Deity.  The  offerings  thus  made,  they  all  re 
turned  in  the  same  order  to  the  public  square,  to  assist  in  the 
sacrifices  which  the  High-priest  (and  not  the  Inca)  offered 
upon  a  table  or  altar  richly  adorned.  The  first  consisted 
generally  of  a  young  llama  of  a  black  color,  and  the  priest, 
after  opening  the  body,  found  in  the  entrails  an  omen  for  the 
future.  They  arranged  the  victim  with  the  head  to  the 
east,  caused  him  to  be  held  by  four  servants  of  the  priests, 
and  then  the  sacrificer  opened  with  the  sacred  knife  the  left 
side,  and  tore  out  the  heart  with  the  lungs  and  throat.  If 
the  auguries  were  not  propitious,  they  offered  another  sac 
rifice  of  a  male  llama,  and  if  neither  were  prosperous,  they 
immolated  a  barren  female  llama,  and  if  these  predictions 
were  not  favorable,  the  nation  was  overpowered  with  the 
deepest  sadness,  and  each  one  feared  an  unlucky  future. 

The  augural  holocaust  over,  the  priests  made  a  general 
sacrifice  to  the  Sun,  which  consisted  of  a  large  quantity  of 
llamas  and  alpacas,  which  they  beheaded,  offering  their  hearts 
to  the  Sun,  and  burning  the  entrails  of  the  victims  until  they 


190  PERU. 

were  reduced  to  ashes,, and  the  flesh  was  roasted  in  the  same 
square,  and  dressed  with  zancu  and  other  food.  They  then 
began  to  drink  the  cliicha,  which  they  had  in  abundance. 
The  king,  who  assisted,  seated  upon  his  golden  seat,  which 
was  placed  upon  a  solid  block  of  the  same  metal,  drank  to 
his  family,  to  some  of  the  chiefs  renowned  for  bravery,  and 
to  the  most  distinguished  curacas  or  conquered  princes. 
The  members  of  the  royal  family  then  toasted  each  other, 
and  the  curacas  did  the  same  among  themselves.  By  de 
grees  the  chicha  took  effect,  the  joy  was  augmented,  followed 
by  dancing,  masquerades,  music,  singing,  and  general  rejoic 
ing,  which  lasted  eight  or  nine  days.  Among  the  dances, 
the  favorite  one  was,  and  is,  at  this  day,  the  cachua,  making 
a  thousand  figures  with  much  velocity,  and  singing  at  the 
same  time.  The  music  of  this  dance,  and  the  figures,  are 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  Scotch  in  their  national  dances. 

Some  historians  relate  that  the  ceremony  of  the  renewing  of 
the  sacred  fire  (Mosoc-nina)  took  place  on  the  evening  of  the 
feast  of  Eaymi ;  the  priest  kindled  it  by  means  of  a  metallic 
mirror,  concave  and  burnished,  which  concentrating  the 
rays  of  the  sun  on  a  quantity  of  dry  cotton  cloth,  it  was  soon  in 
flames ;  a  proceeding  equally  in  use  in  ancient  times,  and 
which  Plutarch  describes  in  the  life  of  Numa.  This  mirror 
was  carried  by  the  priest,  attached  to  a  bracelet  on  the 
left  hand  (Chipana),  and  when  the  Sun  was  obscured,  which 
was  a  bad  omen,  they  obtained  fire  by  means  of  friction. 
Other  authors  pretend,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  day  des 
tined  to  the  renewing  of  the  fire  was  that  of  the  feast  of  the 
vernal  equinox. 

The  second  principal  feast,  called  Situa,  was  solemnized  at 
the  autumnal  equinox,  and  was  preceded  by  a  fast,  which 
took  place  the  day  of  the  new  moon  before  the  feast.  The 
night  before  they  prepared  in  all  the  houses  zancus,  a  por- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  191 

tion  of  which  was  mixed  with  human  blood,  taken  from 
children  of  five  or  six  years  old,  from  the  root  of  the  nose 
between  the  eyebrows,  with  a  small  sharp-pointed  stone.  A 
few  hours  before  breakfast  all  those  who  had  fasted  washed 
themselves,  and  took  a  little  of  the  potion  mixed  with  blood, 
rubbing  with  it  their  whole  body,  in  order  to  dissipate  all 
infirmities.  With  the  same  material  the  head  of  each  house 
rubbed  the  thresholds,  leaving  a  part  stuck  there  in  com 
memoration.  In  the  royal  palace  the  oldest  uncle  of  the 
king  performed  this  ceremony,  and  in  the  temple  of  the 
Sun  the  High-priest,  and  other  priests  deputed  for  that  pur 
pose,  in  the  other  sacred  houses. 

Upon  the  rising  of  the  Sun  the  people  assembled  in  the 
designated  squares  to  adore  the  Deity,  invoking  it,  and  en 
treating  it  to  condescend  to  expel  all  evils  and  infirmities  ; 
and  afterward  they  breakfasted,  eating  the  zancu  without 
blood.  Then  at  an  hour  appointed  on  the  morrow,  there 
came  out  of  the  fortress  Sacsalmaman,  an  Inca,  as  a  messenger 
of  the  Sun,  richly  arrayed,  his  mantle  girt  to  his  body,  a 
lance  with  a  little  banner  of  feathers  in  his  hand,  and  ran 
until  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  principal  square,  where 
he  was  waited  for  by  four  Incas  similarly  clothed.  Upon 
reaching  them,  he  touched  their  lances  with  his,  telling 
them  that  the  Sun  commanded  that  they  should  expel  from 
the  city  and  its  environs  all  ills  and  infirmities.  At  the 
same  time,  the  four  Incas  departed  for  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe,  by  the  four  royal  roads  which  proceeded  from 
this  square,  and  ran  a  quarter  of  a  league,  to  a  spot  where 
others  were  waiting  for  them,  already  prepared  to  continue 
the  service  ;  and  in  this  manner,  their  places  re-occupied  by 
fresh  substitutes,  they  traversed  the  road  for  six  leagues  be 
yond  the  city,  in  the  four  principal  directions,  the  Incas 
keeping  their  lances  in  rest,  as  if  to  put  an  end  to  all  the 


192  PERU. 

evils  which  they  pretended  to  drive  away.  Whilst  they 
were  thus  running,  the  whole  population  of  the  city  and 
neighboring  places  came  out  to  the  doors  of  their  houses, 
shaking,  with  loud  exclamations  and  outcries,  their  clothes, 
and  rubbing  their  bodies  with  their  hands,  in  token  that 
they  wished  to  tear  out  all  the  evils  and  give  them  to  the 
Incas  to  be  destroyed.  This  ceremony  was  followed  by  a 
general  rejoicing  with  music,  dancing,  and  intoxication, 
which  lasted  through  the  quarter  of  the  moon.  At  night, 
after  the  feast,  the  Indians  sallied  out  with  torches,  bound 
around  with  straw  (Pancuncu),  and  fastened  to  coarse  ropes, 
and  ran  shaking  them  through  the  streets  until  they  were 
out  of  the  city,  extinguishing  them  by  throwing  them  into 
the  rivulets,  pretending  thus  to  destroy  all  nocturnal  evils. 

The  third  feast  (Cusquic-Raymi)  was  celebrated  at  the 
winter  solstice,  the  object  of  which  was  to  implore  the  Sun 
to  preserve  the  corn  that  was  planted  from  the  rigor  of  the 
frost.  This  festivity  was  preceded  by  a  day  of  fast,  which 
was  solemnized  by  sacrifices  similar  to  those  of  the  feast 
.  Raymij  by  a  black  lamb,  and  a  great  quantity  of  llamas,  the 
hearts  and  blood  of  which  were  burnt  as  offerings  to  the 
Sun,  and  the  roasted  flesh  distributed  to  the  numerous  as 
sistants  who  participated  in  the  ceremonies.  The  feast  con 
cluded  with  solemn  dances,  which  lasted  three  days. 

Finally,  the  fourth  principal  feast  of  the  sun,  solemnized 
at  the  vernal  equinox,  was  that  of  arming  the  knights  or 
cavaliers,  (Huaracu.)  After  having  passed  through  most 
rigorous  examinations  in  all  the  political  and  military 
sciences,  (see  the  4th  chapter,)  the  Incas  admitted  to  the 
ceremony  those  young  men  in  whose  honor  the  feast  was 
celebrated.  The  nation  fasted  one  day,  and  the  candidates 
eight  or  ten  days ;  then  after  the  adoration  of  the  Sun  in 
the  morning,  and  the  public  sacrifices  as  in  the  other  feasts. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  193 

the  Inca  sallied  out  accompanied  by  the  most  ancient  of  the 
royal  blood  to  the  principal  square,  made  to  the  candidates 
a  speech  concerning  their  future  duties,  and  this  concluded, 
they  passed  one  by  one  in  front  of  the  monarch,  who  pierced 
their  ears  with  a  golden  pin.  The  novitiate  kissed  the  hand 
of  the  king,  and  presented  himself  before  another  Inca,  who 
took  from  him  the  Usutas  (sandals)  of  rushes  which  are 
worn  by  all  the  candidates  or  aspirants  during  their  exami 
nations,  and  shod  him  with  woollen  sandals,  very  richly 
bordered,  and  kissing  him  on  the  right  shoulder,  said  to  him  : 
"  The  son  of  the  Sun,  who  has  given  such  proofs  of  himself, 
deserves  to  be  reverenced."  The  novitiate  then  entered  an 
ornamented  enclosure,  where  the  old  Incas  put  on  him  the 
loose  drawers  (Huaracu),  as  a  token  that  he  was  a  man,  and 
adorned  his  head  with  chaplets  composed  of  the  flowers 
Cantur  and  Chichuayhua,  and  with  a  leaf  of  the  herb  Uina- 
huayna.  After  having  received  all  the  badges  of  an  Inca 
and  Cavalier,  the  novitiates  were  conducted  to  the  principal 
square,  where  the  ceremony  was  terminated  with  songs  and 
balls,  which  lasted  several  days,  and  were  even  continued  in 
the  houses  of  the  parents  of  the  youths. 

Garcillaso  de  la  Yega  gives,  in  his  Commentaries,  a  minute 
description  of  this  feast,  from  which  we  have  extracted  the 
foregoing  abridgment.  Sometimes  it  is  probable  that  they 
did  not  limit  themselves  to  the  forms  which  we  have 
given  of  their  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  that  they  differed 
somewhat  from  that  which  we  have  just  described ;  neverthe 
less,  the  information  here  communicated  seems  to  be  accurate 
enough  in  its  elements  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  spirit 
of  the  ceremonies. 

Beside  these  principal  feasts  in  honor  of  the  Sun,  there 
were  many  others  which  continually  followed  each  other,  so 
that  in  a  word,  we  may  say  almost  half  the  year  was  passed 
9 


194  PERU. 

in  festivities.  We  will  relate  some  of  the  most  important 
ones  only.  The  first  day  of  the  moon  was  always  celebrated 
with  sacrifices,  music,  dancing,  and  inebriation.  In  the 
month  of  April  came  the  feasts  of  the  harvest  and  of  the 
MisaCj  (see  the  sixth  chapter) ;  in  June  the  military  ones, 
preceded  by  exercises  and  parades ;  in  August  the  Yupay- 
Asitua,  or  supplemental  balls,  as  a  continuation  of  the  feasts 
of  the  preceding  month  ;  in  September  was  solemnized  the 
Coya-raymi,  or  dance  of  the  Coy  as  [princesses],  marrying  on 
a  fixed  day  the  princesses  of  the  royal  family,  and  on  the 
following,  all  the  brides  of  the  empire ;  and  finally,  the  feast 
of  the  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  state. 

In  October  took  place  the  feast  in  commemoration  of  the 
deceased ;  and  in  November,  that  of  the  termination  of  the 
year  and  the  end  of  seed-time.  A  solemn  day  throughout 
the  province  of  Cuzco,  was  one,  on  which  the  Inca  with  all 
the  Cavaliers  of  the  court  went  out  to  the  camp  and  pierced 
the  earth,  after  the  manner  of  the  Chinese  emperors,  with  an 
instrument  of  gold  which  corresponded  with  our  plough. 
The  magnates  followed  the  example  of  the  emperor,  and 
this  ceremony  inaugurated  the  cultivation  of  the  earth. 

"We  have  already  said  that  throughout  the  empire,  they 
celebrated  the  feasts  of  the  Huacas  one  or  more  times  during 
the  year,  according  to  the  dignity  of  them ;  but  these  festi 
vities,  indefinite  in. number,  were  partial  only,  and  the  entire 
nation  participated  in  the  four  great  ones  only,  which  we 
have  described,  and  but  slightly  in  the  others  spoken  of. 

The  offerings  which  the  Indians  presented  to  the  Sun  and 
other  deities,  consisted  of  that  which  was  produced  both  by 
nature  and  art.  At  times,  the  sacrifices  consisted  of  human 
victims,  although  Garcilasso  de  la  Yega  pretends  to  say 
several  times  in  his  Eoyal  Commentaries  that  not  only  were 
the  Incas  opposed  to  so  horrible  a  holocaust,  but  that  they 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  195 

abolished  it,  and  repressed  it  with  zeal  among  all  the  nations 
whom  they  conquered.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  points, 
Garcilasso  is  found  directly  opposed  to  all  the  historians, 
who  accuse  of  falsehood  this  descendant  of  the  Incas,  and 
charge  that  it  is  not  through  his  ignorance  of  the  fact,  but 
through  a  partiality  in  favor  of  the  prudence  and  humanity 
of  the  Peruvian  monarchs,  whose  blood,  although  mixed,  ran 
through  his  veins.  The  authors  of  the  sixteenth  and  seven 
teenth  centuries  who  make  mention  of  human  sacrifices 
among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Peru,  are: — Gomara,  (Hist. 
of  the  Indies,  Book  IY.) ;  Cieca  de  Leon,  (Chronicle,  Chap. 
XIX.) ;  Acosta,  (Natural  Hist,  of  the  Indies,  Book  V.  Chap. 
XVIII.) ;  Tamara,  (Customs  of  all  Nations,  Book  III.  Pag. 
298);  Levinus  Apollonius,  (of  the  Discovery  of  Peru,  Book 
I.  Pag.  37);  Balboa,  (Hist,  of  Peru,  Chap.  VIII.) ;  Benzoni, 
(Hist,  of  the  New  World,  Book  III.  Chap.  XX.) ;  Montednos, 
(Ancient  Memorials)  in  several  places ;  Belanzos,  (quoted  by 
Garcia,  Hist,  of  the  Indies,  Pag.  198) ;  Herrera,  (Hist,  of  the 
Indies,  Dec.  V.,  Book  IV.  Chap.  IV.),  and  according  to 
Prescott  (Conquest  of  Peru,  Book  I.  Chap.  III.),  Sarmiento 
(M.  S.  Eelation,  Chap.  XXII.) ;  Ondegardo  (Second  Eelation, 
M.  S.) ;  and  the  Decades  of  the  royal  audience.  To  these 
testimonies  we  may  add  that  of  Jose  de  Arriaga,  (Extirpation 
of  the  Idolatry  of  the  ^Indians  of  Peru,  1621.)  Against  so 
many  proofs,  the  most  of  which  are  worthy  of  credit,  the 
testimony  of  Garcilasso  is  of  no  value,  notwithstanding  the 
pains  he  takes  to  exculpate  his  ancestors  from  all  suspicion 
on  this  point.  It  is  true  that  the  Peruvian  priests  did  not 
proceed  with  the  frantic  ferocity  of  the  Mexicans;  never 
theless,  the  quantity  of  their  victims  reached  a  very  frightful 
number,  and  consisted  principally  of  children  of  tender  age, 
which  they  sacrificed  to  the  Sun,  and  it  was  no  unusual 


196  PERU. 

thing  to  sacrifice  two  hundred  at  one  time.  On  certain  occa 
sions,  they  also  offered  certain  virgins  to  the  Sun.  When 
the  Inca,  or  some  great  lord,  fell  sick,  he  was  accustomed  to 
offer  one  of  his  sons  to  the  Deity,  imploring  him  to  take 
this  victim,  instead  of  the  sick  man.  When  comets  'appeared, 
or  epidemics  prevailed,  they  were  accustomed  to  offer  chil 
dren  to  the  Sun,  to  appease  his  anger.  We  have  already 
seen,  that  at  the  death  of  an  Inca  or  a  principal  Chief,  they 
interred  with  the  deceased  his  servants  and  women  ;  at  the 
same  time  the  priests  immolated  other  victims  upon  the 
altars.  It  is  said  that  in  the  exequies  of  Huayna-Capac, 
more  than  one  thousand  men  were  thus  sacrificed.  This 
barbarous  custom  lasted  for  some  time  after  the  conquest. 
Ciega  de  Leon  relates  (Chronicle,  Chap.  LXII.)  an  act  of 
this  nature  in  these  terms  :  "  And  Alaya,  lord  of  the  larger 
part  of  the  valley  of  Xauxa,  died  about  two  years  since ; 
and  the  Indians  say  that  they  interred  with  him  a  large 
number  of  wives  and  servants  alive.  And  if  I  am  not 
deceived,  they  so  told  the  president  Gasca,  and  it  was  for 
bidden  to  the  other  lords,  giving  them  to  understand  that  it 
was  a  great  sin  which  they  committed,  and  useless  as  to  its 
supposed  benefits."  In  some  provinces  the  offering  always 
presented  was  the  first-born ;  in  others  they  offered  one  of 
twin  sons  to  the  Sun,  or  to  some  other  Deity ;  and  even 
more  than  fifty  years  after  the  conquest,  there  was  immo 
lated  in  a  temple  of  the  region  of  Hunayan,  one  league  and 
a  half  from  the  City  of  Catas,  every  year,  a  certain  number 
of  youths  and  children,  pretending  that  the  idols  subsisted 
upon  human  flesh. 

We  are  not  told  whether,  under  the  reign  of  the  Incas,  it  was 
the  custom  to  offer  the  prisoners  of  war,  as  in  Mexico ;  a 
custom,  however,  which  is  general  even  at  the  present  day 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  197 

among  the  barbarous  nations  of  the  Pampa  del  Sacramento, 
who  eat  the  flesh  of  the  victims  of  war,  after  burning  the 
entrails  as  an  offering. 

The  most  ordinary  sacrifices  were  of  llamas,  principally 
to  the  Sun.  This  deity  had  numerous  flocks  of  these  animals, 
and  the  pasturing  of  them  was  one  of  the  occupations  of  the 
Indians  of  Puna.  In  the  general  sacrifices,  the  color  of  the 
fleece  was  immaterial,  but  for  the  inaugural  holocaust,  the 
law  commanded  a  black  llama  without  a  spot  of  any  other 
color.  An  accurate  calculation  demonstrates  that  in  the 
single  city  of  Cuzco,  there  were  beheaded  annually  some  two 
hundred  thousand  llamas  in  honor  of  the  Sun.  As  we  have 
already  said,  the  flesh  of  the  holocausts  was  roasted  and  dis 
tributed  among  the  assistants  at  the  feast,  with  the  exception 
of  the  black  sheep,  and  the  blood  and  intestines  of  the  others, 
which  were  reserved  for  the  Deity  and  converted  into  ashes. 
From  the  wool  of  these  animals  the  Inca  ordered  to  be 
woven  clothes  for  the  soldiers. 

The  Alpacas,  Yicunas  and  huanacos  were  also  victims 
offered  to  the  Sun,  or  to  the  Huacas.  The  fat  (Huird)  of 
all  these  animals  formed  one  of  the  most  precious  objects 
of  the  offering.  In  the  present  province  of  Jaiija,  they 
sacrificed  dogs  (Alljo\  foxes  (Atoc],  pole-cats  (Anash);  in 
others  small  rabbits  (Cuys\  flies  (Cuspi),  hares,  squirrels, 
(Caracliupas),  apes,  deer,  (Lluchos)  and  stags,  (Tarusli  or 
Tanico.)  Of  the  ferocious  and  noxious  animals  which  they 
could  not  take  alive  for  sacrifices,  such  as  tapirs,  (Anta)  lions, 
(Puma),  tigers,  serpents,  lizards,  etc.,  they  made  figures  of 
them  in  gold  or  silver,  which  they  presented  to  the  Deity  j 
and  the  same  proceeding  was  observed  with  the  llamas  by 
those  who  came  from  distant  territories  [where  the  animal 
did  not  range]  to  the  feast. 

The  birds  chiefly  destined  for  sacrifice  were  the  Iriburu 


198  PERU. 

pichu  (Vultur  papa\  the  condor,  the  black  Tunqui  (CepJia- 
lopterus  ornatus\  the  colored  Tunqui  (Rupicola^eruand),  the 
tornasol  (Trogon-heliothrix\  the  humming  bird,  long-tailed 
parrots,  common  parrots,  cuckoos,  flamingos,  (Parra),  and 
other  birds  of  brilliant  plumage. 

They  also  offered  several  species  of  marine  shells 
(Mullu),  of  the  most  beautiful  colors,  the  bezoar  stone, 
and  honey. 

Of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  the  principal  offering  was  corn, 
under  all  forms ;  in  the  ear,  the  grain,  ra\v,  cooked,  or  con 
verted  into  the  usual  drink  of  the  Indians,  called  Acca  or 
Asahua  (Chicha).  At  all  the  feasts  they  emptied,  as  a  liba 
tion  to  the  Deity,  a  small  gold  vase  filled  with  chicha ;  and 
consumed,  after  the  ceremonies  were  concluded,  a  con 
siderable  quantity  of  this  beverage,  so  that  each  religious 
function  was  concluded  with  a  general  intoxication,  and  al 
ways  with  violent  quarrels.  The  herb  coca  was  one  of  the 
most  precious  offerings,  especially  to  the  Huacas,  to  whom  it 
was  offered,  after  having  been  chewed  in  the  mouth,  or  mixed 
,  with  fat  and  corn  '  ground  together  under  foot.  They  also 
offered  many  vegetable  productions,  such  as  quinua,  pota 
toes,  pineapples,  plantains,  May-apples,  fruits  similar  to 
dried  almonds,  and  of  a  strong  and  aromatic  smell :  every 
species  of  drink  made  of  roots,  and  fruits,  flax,  cotton,  etc. 

The  offerings  taken  from  the  mineral  kingdom  were  the 
richest,  as  they  consisted  of  the  noble  metals  and  precious 
stones,  the  relative  value  of  which  the  Indians  knew,  not 
withstanding  their  being  found  very  rarely  among  them. 
The  gold  they  presented  to  the  Deities,  either  in  dust  or  cast 
into  the  form  of  small  bars,  or  in  thin  leaves,  or  wrought  in 
different  ways.  They  used  also  for  sacrifice  the  dust  of 
cinnabar  (Paria  or  Puccullimpi),  sulphate  of  copper  (Pinso  or 
Anas-llimpi),  sulphate  of  iron  (Llacsa  or  Comer-llimpi),  an-1 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  199 

pulverized  pyrites  (Carhuanuqui  or  Carhua-llimpi).  Upon 
offering  powders  or  dust  they  first  marked  with  it  the 
Huacas  or  Conopas,  and  afterward  blew  it  into  the  air.  They 
called  this  ceremony  Huatcuna.  Among  the  precious  stones 
we  must  notice  the  emerald,  hyacinth,  topaz,  opal,  chryso- 
prase,  jasper,  ruby,  and  obsidian.*  Of  all  these  they  have 
found  specimens  in  the  Peruvian  Huacas,  and  among  the 
emeralds  some  of  considerable  value.  We  must  also  speak 
of  a  sacrifice  very  common  among  them,  and  which  consisted 
of  eyelashes,  which  the  Indians  plucked  out  and  blew  into 
the  air.  This  offering  was  very  general,  inasmuch  as  they 
could  present  it  for  themselves,  without  the  intervention  of 
the  priests,  necessary  on  other  occasions. 

Finally,  to  complete  the  religious  ceremonies,  it  only  re 
mains  for  us  to  examine  the  manner  in  which  the  ancient 
Peruvians  buried  their  dead  and  embalmed  the  corpses.  In 
the  preceding  chapter  we  have  said  that  the  deceased  kings 
were  deposited  in  the  principal  part  of  the  temple  of  the 
Sun,  in  Cuzco,  embalmed,  and  covered  with  their  gala 
dresses,  with  a  rich  sceptre  in  the  right  hand.  The  Coya  or 
empress  was  also  embalmed  and  deposited  in  that  part  of 
the  temple  dedicated  to  the  Moon.  The  royal  exequies 
were  very  imposing :  they  arranged  the  corpse  with  much 
pomp  in  the  temple  before  the  image  of  the  Sun,  sacrificed 
to  it  for  three  days  the  best  of  what  they  had,  chiefly  gold, 
silver,  corn,  and  coca,  and  during  four  moons  the  subjects 
daily  wept  the  death  of  the  sovereign.  Each  quarter  of  the 
city  went  out  to  the  field  with  flags,  arms,  garments,  and" 
other  royal  insignia,  singing  hymns  which  celebrated  the 
deeds,  wisdom,  and  greatness  of  the  defunct,  a  ceremony 
which  was  repeated  at  each  anniversary  of  his  death ;  and 
also  at  each  full  and  new  moon,  certain  persons  repeated, 
*  We  have  only  been  able  to  meet  with  the  last  named. 


200  PERU. 

amid  tears  and  sobs,  mournful  dirges  and  dithyrambic 
praises  relative  to  the  lost  monarch. 

The  kings  of  Quito,  or  Scyris,  were  buried,  according  to 
Fray-Marcos  de  Niza  (Conquest  of  the  Province  of  Quito, 
Eites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Indians),  all  in  a  very  large 
sepulchre,  made  of  stones  in  a  quadrangular  and  pyramidal 
form,  so  covered  with  pebbles  and  sand  that  it  formed  a 
miniature  hill.  The  door  looked  out  to  the  east,  was  closed 
with  a  double  wall,  and  only  opened  upon  the  death  of  one 
of  them.  We  find  in  them  their  embalmed  corpses,  arranged 
in  order  with  their  royal  insignia,  and  the  treasure  which, 
the  monarch  had  commanded  should  be  interred  with  him. 
Over  each  one  of  them  was  found  a  cavity  or  small  niche, 
where  was  found  a  hollow  figure  of  claj^,  stone  or  metal ; 
within  were  small  stones  of  divers  colors  and  shapes,  which 
denoted  his  age,  the  years  and  months  of  his  reign. 

The  manner  of  burying  the  vassals  was  very  different,  and 
varied  in  each  province.  In  some  parts,  principally  at  the 
South,  the  cavaliers  of  royal  blood,  curacas,  and  other  mag 
nates,  were  deposited  in  large  vases  of  gold  and  silver,  in  the 
form  of  urns,  hermetically  sealed,  which  were  found  arranged 
in  meadows,  woods,  or  forests,  as  Gomara  relates  (Hist.  Gen., 
Chap.  122).  We  regret  that  we  have  not  met  with  a  single 
one  of  these  urns,  which  were  found  in  such  abundance  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  of  which  we  know  nothing, — not  even  the 
shape.  Ciega  de  Leon  (Chronicle,  Chap.  Ixii.)  says:  "In 
order  that  the  sepulchres  should  be  made  magnificent  and 
spacious,  they  adorned  them  with  pavements  and  vaults,  and 
put  in  with  the  deceased  all  his  chattels,  wives  and  servants, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  food,  and  numerous  pitchers  of  chi- 
cha,  or  wine,  such  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of  using ;  they 
thus  give  us  to  understand  that  they  have  a  knowledge  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  that  in  man  there  is  more 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  201 

than  the  mortal  body."  The  same  author  also  says,  in  the 
chapter  quoted:  "  And  many  of  his  servants,  that  he  might 
not  fail  of  attendants  in  another  world,  made  holes  in  the 
grounds  and  fields  of  the  master,  or  lord,  now  dead,  or 
in  those  places  where  he  most  enjoyed  and  feasted  him 
self,  and  there  they  buried  themselves,  thinking  that  his  soul 
passed  through  those  places,  and  took  them  along  for  his 
future  use  or  service.  And  some  of  his  women,  to  give  to 
his  burial  more  importance,  and  to  remain  in  his  service, 
would,  even  before  his  interment,  hang  themselves,  by  their 
own  hair,  and  so  kill  themselves." 

The  nation  of  the  Chinchas,  and  others,  of  the  provinces 
on  the  coast,  interred  their  corpses  (probably  those  of  the 
common  people)  just  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  covering 
them  with  a  light  coat  of  sand,  without  the  smallest  eleva 
tion  of  the  ground,  indicating  the  spot  in  which  the  deceased 
were  laid.  These  interments,  at  the  present  day,  are  found 
in  rows,  or  spaces,  one  alongside  of  the  other.  On  the  west 
ern  declivity  of  the  Cordilleras  they  used  sepulchres,  in  the 
form  of  ovens,  made  of  adobes ;  and  in  the  Sierra  they  were 
constructed  of  stones,  square  or  oval,  or  in  the  form  of  obe 
lisks,  as  in  the  Punas  of  Southern  Peru,  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  river  Chucana,  and  between  Pisacoma  and  Pichu-Pichu. 
These  obelisks  have  been  erroneously  supposed,  by  some  tra 
vellers,  to  be  triumphal  monuments  of  the  Inca  Yupanqui. 

A  large  number  of  the  tombs  was  enclosed  by  flat  stones, 
one  or  two  yards  in  height.  The  sepulchres  built  of  adobes, 
or  stones,  always  contained  the  corpses  of  the  principal  fami 
lies.  The  plebeian  families  were  arranged  in  rows,  or  formed 
a  semicircle  in  caves,  fissures  of  rocks,  or  terraces  formed  by 
rocks ;  as,  at  the  present  day,  large  numbers  of  them  are 
found  in  the  departments  of  Junin,  Ayacucho,  and  elsewhere. 
Sometimes  they  were  buried  in  holes,  around  which  the 


202  PERU. 

Indians  heaped  stones.*  "We  have  found  mummies  in  the 
fissures  of  rocks,  so  narrow,  that  it  seems  incredible  that 
they  should  have  been  able  to  place  in  them  the  corpses, 
when  newly  dead,  and,  of  course,  much  more  bulky,  than 
the  dried  remains  which  are  left;  even  these'  remains 
can,  with  difficulty,  be  extracted  from  these  narrow  places. 
Those  bodies  which  were  placed  under  shelter  from  the 
weather  and  changes  of  the  atmosphere  have  been  pre 
served;  but  of  those  subjected  to  exposure  nothing  but  the 
skeleton  remains. 

In  whatever  way  they  were  buried,  the  ancient  Peruvians 
arranged  the  corpses  in  a  drawn-up  posture,  the  face  turned 
toward  the  west,  with  provisions  of  chicha,  corn,  coca,  depo 
sited  in  round  earthen  pots,  and  other  vases,  that  they  might 
find  food  to  sustain  them.  They  placed  next  to  the  corpse  small 
sacks  full  of  the  ears  of  two  sorts  of  corn,  very  rare :  one, 
the  ear  of  which  is  short,  dry,  and  a  little  curved  at  the 
point ;  the  other,  with  the  ear  long,  thin,  with  large  grains, 
almost  triangular  at  the  point,  very  much  turned,  with  the 
grains  covering  it  like  the  tiles  of  a  roof.  The  celebrated 
English  botanist,  Eobert  Brown,  possesses  one  of  these  ears, 
in  a  state  of  petrifaction,  which  was  found  in  a  Peruvian  ruin. 
This  species  (callSd* Zea-rostrata}  by  the  celebrated  writer  on 
maize,  JBonafous,)  as  well  as  the  other  we  have  named,  seems 
to  be  a  native  of  Peru  ;  but  at  the  present  day  it  is  but  little 
cultivated,  and  but  little  is  seen  among  the  numerous  varieties 
of  corn  in  the  department  of  Cuzco.  Grains  of  the  Zea-ros- 
trata,  taken  from  a  sepulchre,  and,  consequently,  many  cen 
turies  old,  have  germinated  in  Europe,  like  the  wheat  found 
in  Egyptian  mummies, which  counts  a  thousand  years. 

In  the  walls  of  the  sepulchres,  which  are  made  without 

*  Many  of  these  tumuli  are  similar  to  those  which  are  found  in  Asia, 
and  in  North  America. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  203 

doors,  are  found  certain  holes  and  conduits,  which  lead  from 
the  surface  outside  to  vases  within  ;  into  these  they  empty  the 
chicha  on  those  feast  days  which  they  solemnize  in  honor 
of  their  mallquis. 

The  corpses,  as  they  appear  in  the  sepulchres,  are  found 
enveloped  with  much  cloth,  and  as  it  were  bundled  up.  We 
will  describe  them  as  we  found  them  in  more  than  fifty 
mummies  which  we  have  uncovered.  At  first  sight  we  dis 
tinguished  nothing  more  than  what  seems  a  coarse  statue, 
seated,  in  which  nothing  is  visible  but  a  round  head,  two 
knees,  and  two  feet  of  large  appearance  ;  a  strong  net  of  coarse 
thread,  with  meshes  sufficiently  wide,  is  bound  closely  over 
a  coarse  mat  of  rushes,  in  which  the  corpse  is  wrapped.  In 
the  sepulchres  of  higher  Peru,  are  found  mummies  in  mats 
of  totora,  [a  particular  species  of  rush  on  Lake  Titicaca]  in 
shape  very  similar  to  beehives,  with  a  square  aperture  at  the 
side  of  the  face.  Upon  removing  the  mat  you  discover  a 
large  roll  of  cotton,  which  envelops  the  whole  body  from 
end  to  end,  and  secures  two  canes  or  reeds  to  the  sides,  and 
sometimes  also  a  stick  across  the  shoulders :  after  removing 
this  roll  is  seen  a  cloth  of  wool,  red  or  parti-colored,  which 
completely  envelops  the  mummy,  at  the  lower  part  of  which 
are  one  or  two  cloths  of  cotton,  like  sheets,  fastened  firmly, 
as  the  cloth  is  around  the  corpse ;  under  these  we  find  some 
small  vases,  ornaments,  the  hualqui  with  the  coca,  and  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  mummies  a  conopa  of  stone,  clay,  silver  or 
gold,  hanging  from  the  neck.  The  internal  covering  is  a 
cotton  cloth,  quite  fine,  probably  white  originally,  but 
tinged  with  a  reddish  yellow  by  time,  and  sewed  like  the 
other  coverings ;  this  being  removed,  the  corpse  is  seen  naked, 
only  the  head  enveloped  in  two  or  three  rolls,  the  upper  one 
of  which  is  of  a  fine  web,  and  almost  always  with  threads  of 
divers  colors :  the  under  one  is  narrower  and  thicker,  some- 


204  PERU. 

times  made  of  rushes  only,  but  ordinarily  of  a  yellowish 
cotton. 

The  position  of  the  corpse  is  squatting ;  raising  the  knees 
to  the  chin,  the  arms  are  crossed  over  the  breast,  or  support 
ing  the  head,  so  that  the  fists  touch  the  jaws.  The  hands 
are  generally  fastened,  and  in  most  of  the  mummies  there  is 
a  coarse  rope  passed  three  or  four  times  around  the  neck, 
and  we  also  see  a  stick  which  passes  from  the  ground  be 
tween  the  legs  to  the  throat,  and  which  serves  to  support  the 
corpse  more  firmly.  In  the  mouth  is  always  found  a  small 
disk  of  copper,  silver  or  gold.  The  greater  part  of  the  corpses 
were  sufficiently  well  preserved,  but  the  flesh  was  shrivelled, 
and  the  features  disfigured :  the  hair  always  perfectly  pre 
served,  that  of  the  women  artificially  braided,  but  the  black 
pigment  or  coloring  matter  had  lost  more  or  less  of  its  pri 
mitive  color,  and  had  become  reddish. 

"We  now  come  to  the  interesting  question,  whether  the 
ancient  Peruvians  embalmed  their  corpses,  or  whether  they 
owe  their  good  preservation  to  the  influence  of  the  climate 
which  is  so  conducive  to  natural  mummification. 

Both  opinions  have  their  defenders,  who  sustain  them  with 
reasons  more  or  less  well  founded.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  art  of  embalming  was  known  to  the  Peruvians,  but  prob 
ably  only  to  a  certain  class  of  Incas,  who,  holding  it  as  a 
secret,  exercised  it  upon  the  corpses  of  the  kings  and  their 
legitimate  wives  only. 

If  we  may  rely  upon  the  relations  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega, 
and  of  Father  Acosta,  already  quoted  in  the  preceding  chap 
ter,  this  art  had  reached  a  degree  of  perfection  which  seems  to 
have  surpassed  very  much  the  skill  of  the  Egyptians ;  since 
there  are  not  known  mummies  belonging  to  any  nation,  in 
which  the  fleshly  parts  remained  perfect,  the  skin  soft  an 
smooth,  and  the  features  of  the  face  unaltered. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  205 

We  candidly  confess  that  the  statements  of  the  authors 
above  named,  upon  this  subject,  seem  to  us  inaccurate,  or  at 
least  exaggerated ;  and  all  who  know  the  inevitable  changes 
which  the  smooth  parts  of  the  human  body  do  undergo,  in 
spite  of  all  preservative  means,  as  soon  as  vitality  ceases,  will 
participate  in  our  opinion. 

It  is  certain  that  the  corpses  of  the  kings  were  incompar 
ably  better  preserved  than  the  others,  in  consequence  of  a 
certain  means  used ;  and  the  assertion  that  this  was  a  secret 
of  the  royal  family,  is  founded  upon  the  fact  that  there  have 
been  found  no  other  artificial  mummies  than  those  of  the 
kings  and  queens.  Neither  do  we  know  what  means  the 
masters  used  to  embalm  them,  nor  what  substances  they  used 
to  avoid  putrefaction  and  give  a  certain  flexibility  to  the  skin. 
To  obtain  a  knowledge  of  this,  it  would  be  necessary  to  sub 
mit  one  of  these  mummies  to  a  chemical  analysis. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  other  mummified  corpses, 
which  are  found  by  millions  as  well  on  the  coast  as  on  the 
mountains,  had  been  also  embalmed ;  but  it  is  a  serious  error, 
they  being  only  natural  mummies,  as  we  shall  presently  prove. 
The  late  Don  Francisco  Barreda  published  in  the  memoirs 
of  natural  sciences  of  Don  M.  E.  de  Rivero  (Yol.  II.  page 
106)  a  dissertation  to  prove  that  these  corpses  were  embalmed, 
and  describes  the  procedure  which  the  embalmers  used  with 
them  as  follows : 

"  The  professors  of  the  art  performed  the  operation  in 
several  ways.  In  imitation  of  the  Egyptians,  they  drew  out 
the  brains  through  the  nostrils,  thus  explaining  the  want  of 
the  small  bone  which  separates  the  eyes,  and  the  fracture 
made  in  the  suture  which  connects  this  with  the  forehead,  thus 
facilitating  the  passage  to  the  interior  of  the  cranium.  They 
sometimes  preserved  this  small  bone,  entirely  withdrawing 


206  PERU. 

the  brain,  and  yet  without  leaving  any  mark  capable  of 
manifesting  the  corruption  which  would  have  been  produced, 
if  they  had  extracted  the  brain  in  any  other  way ;  thus  prov 
ing  that  such  was  their  knowledge  of  anatomy,  that  they  made 
their  extractions  from  this  organ  in  different  ways  and  in 
different  places.  They  drew  out  the  eyes,  as  being  composed 
of  very  corruptible  substances,  filling  the  orbits  with  cotton 
and  other  materials  ingeniously  arranged,  which  covered  the 
deficiency  when  the  eyelids  were  closed :  all  was  neatly  ex 
ecuted  without  altering  the  features  of  the  face,  whatever 
aspect  it  might  have  worn  in  life." 

"  The  tongue,  with  all  its  appurtenances,  was  torn  out, 
with  the  lungs,  by  a  small  fissure,  made  from  the  anus  to 
the  pubis.  'After  emptying  through  it  all  the  intestines, 
they  left  the  lower  belly  and  breast  free  from  the  parts  which 
might  putrefy.  The  vacuum  of  both  cavities  they  filled  with 
a  subtile  powder,  the  color  of  liver,  which  exhaled  a  slight 
turpentine  odor  the  instant  that  it  was  taken  out,  and  after 
ward  lost  it  in  a  short  time,  by  its  contact  with  the  open 
air.  It  absorbs  humidity,  and  makes  a  slight  effervescence 
in  cold  water.  We  presume,  from  these  circumstances,  that 
the  compound  is  made  of  resin  of  the  molle  (tree  of  Peru), 
lime,  and  some  mineral  earth.  They  anointed  the  face  with 
an  oily  liquid,  of  an  orange  color,  covering  it  afterward  with 
cotton ;  they  joined  the  hands  to  the  jaws,  and  the  knees  to 
the  breast,  fastening  the  different  members  with  bandages, 
until  they  assumed  the  desired  position." 

In  our  opinion,  this  description  is  a  mere  play  of  fancy  of 
Senor  Barreda.  composed  according  to  the  method  which  the 
Egyptians  used  to  prepare  their  mummies.  In  none  of  those 
preserved  in  the  national  museum  at  Lima  have  they  been 
able  to  discover  either  dust,  or  herbs,  or  other  preservatives. 


PEEUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  207 

as  the  distinguished  director  of  this  institution,  D.  Mariano 
D.  de  Kivero,  has  assured  us  in  his  Treatise  on  Peruvian 
Antiquities,  p.  42. 

"We  have  examined  hundreds  of  these  corpses,  as  well  in 
the  warm  regions  of  the  coast,  as  in  the  frigid  Sierra,  but 
never  did  we  succeed  in  finding  a  preservative  in  any.  It 
is  true  that  we  found  in  almost  all  the  skulls  a  brown  or 
blackish  mass,  sometimes  finely  ground  like  dust,  sometimes 
in  small  pieces,  of  different  sizes ;  but  the  chemical  and 
microscopical  analysis  which  our  friend,  Don  Julio  Yogel, 
made  of  this  substance  has  proved  that  the  dust,  as  well  as 
the  pieces,  was  composed  of  cerebral  fat  and  globules  of 
dried  blood,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  discover  the  slight 
est  vestige  of  a  vegetable  substance  ;  an  irrefragable  proof 
that  the  brains  have  not  been  extracted,  as  Barreda  pre 
tends.  We  can  also  assert,  from  our  own  experience,  that 
all  the  mummies  contain  the  brain  and  the  intestines,  and 
that  in  none  of  them  can  we  perceive  any  incision  in  the 
perineum. 

,  Among  the  numerous  proofs  which  militate  against  an  arti 
ficial  mummification,  we  will  quote  a  few,  but  those  quite  con 
clusive.  In  the  year  18-11  we  found  in  a  sepulchre  of  the  natives 
the  mummy  of  a  pregnant  woman,  perfectly  preserved, 
from  which  we  extracted  the  foetus,  which  is  now  in  our 
possession,  mummified,  and  which,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  professors  in  the  art  of  mid 
wifery,  M.  D'Outrepont,  had  seven  months  of  foetal  age. 

A  few  years  before  there  was  found  in  Iluicliay,  two 
leagues  from  Tarma,  the  mummy  of  a  woman  who  had  died 
in  the  pangs  of  childbirth,  since  only  the  upper  part  of  the 
child's  head  had  come  to  light. 

In  the  mummy  of  a  child  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  which 
was  found  by  Doctor  Yon  Tschudi,  in  a  Huaca  of  the  coast. 


208 


PERU. 


and  which  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Petersburg]}, 
the  ribs  of  the  left  side  were  detached  from  the  breast-bone, 
and  thus  the  concavity  of  the  breast,  and  in  part  the  conca 
vity  of  the  abdomen,  were  open ;  there  may  be  distinctly 
seen  the  heart,  surrounded  with  the  pericardium,  the  shriv 
elled  lungs,  the  diaphragm,  the  transverse  colon,  and  part 
of  the  small  intestines. 


These  and  other  facts  are  conclusive,  and  show  the  fallacy 
of  the  hypothesis  of  Senor  Barreda,  and  of  others,  relative 
to  an  artificial  and  laborious  art  of  enbalming. 

On  the  coast,  the  heated  soil  and  calcined  sand  dry  the 
corpses  ;  and  in  the  interior,  the  pure  cold  air,  and  the  dry 
winds,  do  the  same  thing — a  phenomenon  which,  even  at  the 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  209 

present  day,  we  can  observe.  Place,  for  instance,  a  corpse 
in  a  cave  of  the  Sierra,  or  in  the  sandy  ground  of  the  coast, 
under  shelter  from  the  voracity  of  the  birds,  and,  in  either 
case,  it  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  months,  entire, — not  cor 
rupted,  but  dried ;  and  in  proof  of  this  assertion  we  will  cite 
the  cemetery  of  Huacho,  and  other  towns  of  the  coast,  as 
also  the  mummified  animals,  which  are  sometimes  observed 
on  the  roads,  even  on  those  of  the  Sierra.* 

In  those  regions  in  which  it  frequently  rains,  it  follows  natu 
rally  that  the  mummies  must  be  badly  preserved.  In  truth, 
such  is  the  case ;  and  most  frequently  they  are  seen  reduced 
to  the  form  of  mere  skeletons.  But  in  the  nitrous  parts  of 
the  mountains  these  are  preserved  in  a  state  quite  fresh,  for 
several  generations,  notwithstanding  the  humidity. 

*  On  the  roads  of  the  coast,  as  from  Islay  to  Arequipa,  and  from  this 
latter  to  Lima,  there  are  seen  a  number  of  these  mummies  of  animals 
which  serve  also  as  landmarks,  to  show  the  road  ;  when  the  wind  covers 
it  with  sand. 


CHA^TEK  IX. 

STATE  OF  THE  ARTS  AMONG  THE  ANCIENT  PERUVIANS 

IN  studying  the  Peruvian  works  of  art,  from  the  humble 
vessels  of  clay  moulded  by  the  hands  of  the  rustic  potter,  and 
from  the  rudimentary  idol,  the  coarse  attempts  of  the  silver 
smith,  to  the  wonderful  monuments  of  an  admirable  archi 
tecture,  in  the  construction  of  which  thousands  of  human 
beings  concurred,  this  question  naturally  presents  itself, 
viz. :  whether  the  arts  had  their  origin  in  Peru,  and  emanated 
from  the  progressive  evolution  of  its  primitive  inhabitants ; 
or  whether,  proceeding  from  the  other  hemisphere,  they  were 
the  fruits  scattered  on  a  new  soil  by  the  great  reformer  of 
civilization  and  his  successors.  Historians  differ  very  ma 
terially  on  this  point;  and  whilst  some  attribute,  exclu 
sively,  the  degree  of  artistical  splendor  to  which  ancient  , 
Peru  had  attained,  to  the  seeds  scattered  by  Manco-Capac, 
and  to  the  beneficent  encouragements  of  the  Incas,  others 
attribute  to  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  no  small  part  in  the 
conception  and  execution  of  the  monumental  works  and  me 
chanical  productions  which  excite,  even  at  the  present  day, 
the  admiration  of  polished  Europe. 

The  critical  examination  of  the  ancient  monuments  which 
have  escaped  in  whole  or  in  part  the  destructive  action  of 
time,  and  the  mad  Vandalism  of  the  conquerors,  gives 
us  morejight  than  the  incorrect  and  contradictory  pages  of 

(210) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  211 

authors,  and  indicate  to  us  two  epochs  very  different  in  the 
Peruvian  art,  at  least  so  far  as  concerns  architecture ;  one 
before  and  the  other  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  Inca.  To 
the  first  period  pertains  the  palace  known  under  the  name 
of  ruins  of  the  Gran-Chimu,  in  the  department  of  Libertad; 
the  ruins  of  Huannco  el  Viejo  [old  Huanuco]  ;  those  of  the 
temple  of  Pachacamac.  ;  those  of  the  isles  of  the  lake  Titicaca  ; 
the  formidable  pyramid,  colossus  of  stone  and  statues  of 
Tiahuanacu  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake  of  Chuquito. 
The  second  epoch  comprises  the  remainder  of  the  depart 
ment  of  Cuzco,  and  of  others  which  we  shall  speak  of  in  this 
chapter. 

It  would  be  a  vain  undertaking  to  indicate  the  positive 
age  of  these  monuments,  as  all  certain  means  of  investiga 
tion  are  wanting :  the  only  result  we  can  obtain  is,  that  they 
are  of  an  epoch  anterior  to  the  arrival  of  the  first  Inca ;  and 
that  in  Peru,  as  in  Mexico,  the  people  were  found  in  a  more 
advanced  state  in  the  arts  than  the  greater  part  of  the  na 
tions  of  Northern  Europe. 

With  these  facts  before  us,  the  assertion  of  Garcilasso, 
that  before  the  light  introduced  by  the  first  Inca  the  natives 
of  Peru  were  little  better  than  tame  beasts,  collected  in 
groups,  without  the  slightest  aspect  of  towns,  streets,  squares, 
etc. ;  that  some,  through  fear  of  war,  inhabited  steep  rocks, 
valleys,  natural  fissures,  caves,  or  the  hollows  of  trees,  etc.,  is 
very  remarkable  ;  an  assertion  which  the  same  author  contra 
dicts  when  he  eulogizes  the  admirable  architectural  works 
which  the  Incas  met  with  in  their  conquests,  in  regions 
where  the  new  civilization  had  certainly  not  penetrated. 

In  treating,  in  this  chapter,  of  the  cultivation  of  the  arts 
among  the  ancient  Peruvians,  we  must  limit  ourselves  to  an 
exposition  of  the  state  in  which  they  were  found  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  without  involving  ourselves  in  in- 


212  PERU. 

vestigations  and  hypotheses  upon  their  successive  steps  to 
perfection ;  while  nevertheless,  we  indicate  the  progress  in 
each  one  of  the  artistic  branches. 

The  art  of  working  timber  or  manner  of  applying  this 
material  to  common  or  habitual  purposes,  was  very  slightly 
known  among  the  Peruvians ;  and  it  is  very  remarkable  that 
they  succeeded  in  working  with  more  facility  substances 
much  harder,  such  as  all  kind  of  stones ;  and  that  although 
they  readily  invented  tools  to  overcome  their  hardness,  they 
yet  could  sot  succeed  in  discovering  means  of  overcoming 
the  fibrous  tenacity  of  timber.  They  knew  nothing  of  the 
saw  and  iron  hatchet,  indispensable  instruments  in  carpentry, 
and  with  much  toil  they  wrought  out  posts  and  beams,  in 
limestone  or  marble,  in  place  of  timber.  In  their  immense 
edifices,  the  ridge  poles  with  their  rafters  only  were  of  timber  ; 
they  were  made  of  the  trunks  of  maguay  (Agave  Americana) : 
the  doors  being  of  skins  or  linen,  and  even  of  precious  metals 
soldered  or  riveted :  the  furniture  was  of  stone  or  metal. 
The  want  of  instruments  adequate  to  cutting  and  smoothing 
the  resisting  fibres  of  the  timber  was  the  cause  of  the  greater 
part  of  their  idols  being  of  stone  ;  and  the  small  quantity  of 
timber  which  has  come  into  our  possession  is  distinguished 
by  its  coarse  and  clumsy  work.  A  part  of  the  weapons  of 
war  were  made  of  chonta  wood  :*  Such  were  the  chuqui  or 
large  lance  ;  the  tupina  or  pike,  the  macana  or  species  of 
sword,  the  calhua  or  short  Turkish  sword,  the  huicopa  or 
small  dart  for  throwing,  the  huactana  or  heavy  club — arms 
all  simple,  and  easy  of  construction  with  their  instruments  of 
stone.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  among  the  clubs  there  was 
one,  the  form  of  which  is  completely  identical  with  that 
which  is  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  New  Zealand  and  other 
islands  of  the  Pacific.  Don  Mariano  E.  De  Kivero  possesses 
*  The  chonta  is  a  very  hard  species  of  palm. — [TRANSLATOR.] 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  213 

one  which  was  probably  one  of  the  insignia  of  the  prince  of 
Tunga  in  Columbia;  and  Dr.  Von  Tschudi  disinterred,  in 
1841,  another  similar  to  it,  from  a  sepulchre  three  leagues 
from  Huacho,  together  with  arms  of  copper,  and  ponchos  or 
outer  garments  adorned  with  flamingo  plumes.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  Peruvians  shaped  their  timber  with  instru 
ments  of  stone.  The  chonta  (Guilielma  speciosa  and  Mar- 
tinczia  ciliata)  and  the  Huayacan,  the  hardest  which  they  knew, 
and  which  they  preferred  for  their  arms  and  idols,  resist  the 
tools  of  copper. 

How  superior,  in  comparison  with  these  insignificant 
works,  will  be  found  the  art  of  refining  and  casting  metals ! 
The  Peruvians  knew  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  tin,  and  quick 
silver,  but  iron  was  completely  unknown  to  them,  although 
very  abundant  in  their  country.  The  gold,  although  it  was 
among  them  the  most  esteemed  metal,  they  possessed,  ac 
cording  to  the  best  calculations,  in  a  quantity  greater  than 
that  of  any  other.  Upon  comparing  its  abundance,  in  the 
time  of  the  Incas,  with  the  quantity  which,  in  the  space  of 
three  centuries,  the  Spaniards  have  been  able  to  extract 
from  the  mines  and  rivers,  it  becomes  certain  that  the  In 
dians  had  a  knowledge  of  veins  of  this  precious  material, 
which  tne  conquerors  and  their  descendants  never  succeeded 
in  discovering;  and  we  do  not  believe  that  it  would  be  a 
hazardous  prognostication  to  predict,  that  the  day  will  come 
when  Peru  will  withdraw  from  her  bosom  the  veil  which  now 
covers  more  wonderful  riches  than  those  which  are  offered 
at  the  present  day  in  California. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  short  space 
of  twenty-five  years,  the  Spaniards  exported  from  Peru  to  the 
mother  country  more  than  four  hundred  millions  of  ducats  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  we  may  be  well  assured  that  nine-tenths 
of  this  quantity  composed  the  mere  booty  taken  by  the  conquer- 


214  PERU. 

ors ;  .in  this  computation  we  leave  out  of  view  the  immense 
masses  of  precious  metals,  buried  by  the  natives,  to  hide 
them  from  the  avarice  of  the  foreign  invaders ;  as  also  the 
celebrated  chain  of  gold  (Huasca)  which  the.  Inca  Huayna- 
Capac  commanded  to  be  made  in  honor  of  the  birth  of  his 
first-born  son,  Inti-Cusi-Huallpa-Huasca,  and  which  they 
say  was  thrown  into  the  lake  of  Urcos  ;*  also  the  eleven 
thousand  llamas  loaded  with  gold-dust  in  precious  vases  of 
this  metal,  with  which  the  unfortunate  Atahuallpa  wished 
to  purchase  his  life  and  liberty,  and  which  the  conductors 
interred  in  the  Puna  (probably  on  the  heights  of  Mito  in 
the  valley  of  Jauja),  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  new 
punishment  to  which  their  adored  monarch  had  been 
treacherously  condemned.-)- 

They  called  gold,  "Tears  which  the  sun  shed,"  and  they 
extracted  it  from  the  mines  and  washings  of  the  rivers,  find 
ing  at  times  pieces  weighing  from  thirty-five  to  forty  ounces, 
and  even  more.  Their  most  abundant  mines  were  those  of 
Collahuya,  which  also  yielded  to  the  Spaniards  a  rich  har 
vest.  The  silver  they  generally  took  from  mines,  not  very 
deep  (an  open  cut),  abandoning  them  as  soon  as  the  hardness 

of  the  ore  offered  a  resistance  sufficient  to  withstand  their 

•  < 

*  It  is  said  that  this  chain  was  of  the  size  of  a  man's  wrist,  and  had  in 
length  350  links,  which  made  700  feet,  and  reached  around  two  sides  of 
the  principal  square  of  Cuzco. — Zarrate,  Book  I.  Chap.  XIV. 

t  Others  infer  from  the  abundant  and  large  skeletons  of  llamas,  that 
this  wealth  exists  on  one  of  the  ridges  near  the  pueblo  of  Junin  or 
Reyes,  having  there  met  with  some  figures  and  small  plates  of  gold  and 
silver  which  we  have  seen  in  the  hands  of  the  commandant  of  said  people. 
Many  are  the  relations  which  are  given,  as  well  in  Columbia  as  in  Peru, 
regarding  buried  treasures,  and  in  order  that  our  readers  may  have  some 
notion  of  them,  we  will  insert  at  the  end  of  the  book  that  which  has 
been  communicated  to  us  by  persons  of  good  standing,  referring  to 
documents  and  descriptions  of  subjects  of  which  we  have  knowledge. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  215 

imperfect  tools.  The  Peruvians  not  only  knew  native  silver, 
but  also  its  chemical  combinations,  such  as  the  sulphate, 
antimonial  silver,  etc. ;  giving  to  each  one  of  them  a  parti 
cular  name ;  and  they  knew  how  to  extract  from  these  com 
pounds  the  pure  metal,  by  fusion  or  in  portable  stoves, 
mixing  with  the  most  refractory,  lead,  galena,  (Surucliec, 
"that  which  causes  to  flow")  or  sulphur  of  antimony.  The 
ovens  to-  melt  the  silver,  generally  used  in  Peru  at  the  pre 
sent  day,  are  originally  from  the  Indians,  with  slight  modi 
fications. 

We  have  no  accounts  of  the  mode  of  extracting  the  copper, 
which  is  seldom  found  in  its  native  state  in  Peru ;  it  is  pro 
bable  that  the  greater  part  was  brought  from  Chili,  since  it 
is  doubtful  whether  they  melted  the  minerals  of  copper 
which  abound  in  some  Peruvian  provinces.  In  the  analyses 
made  by  Don  Mariano  E.  de  Eivero,  of  various  instruments 
of  copper,  such  as  chisels,  hatchets,  etc.,  he  has  found  silex  in 
the  proportion  of  from  five  to  ten  per  cent.  Whether  this 
substance  was  mixed  with  it  in  order  to  give  greater  hard 
ness  to  their  instruments,  or  was  accidentally  added  at  the 
time  of  extracting  the  metal  from  the  matrix,  we  cannot  now 
say.  If  this  existed  in  all  the  instruments  which  they  made 
use  of  t®  work  their  stones  and  idols,  it  is  probable  that  they 
had  some  knowledge  of  its  properties  or  power  of  hardening 
copper ;  as  carbon  is  used  to  form  steel.  As  to  the  alloy  of 
copper  with  tin  which  they  made  use  of,  we  do  not  know 
whether  they  understood  the  combination  of  these  metals ; 
they  never,  however,  employed  the  latter  in  a  pure  state,  in 
their  works. 

By  law  the  Incas  prohibited  the  extracting  of  quicksilver, 
not  only  on  account  of  its  fatal  influence  upon  the  animal 
economy ;  but  it  was  also  considered  as  a  useless  metal,  as 
its  value  was  unknown.  The  mineral  quicksilver  of  Huanca- 


216  PERU. 

velica*  was  discovered  more  than  twenty-five  years  after  the 
conquest  in  1567,  by  the  Portuguese,  Enriquez  Garces.  It 
was  undoubtedly  that  known  by  the  Incas,  since  there  was 
found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  deposits  of  it ;  and  accord 
ing  to  some  authors  they  here  obtained  the  Ychma,  which  is 
the  cinnabar,  and  the  Llartipi  (oxide  of  iron),  which  they 
used  to  paint  themselves. 

Another  law  determined  that  the  Ychma  should  be  dug 
up  by  only  a  limited  number  of  Indians,  destined  for  this 
task,  and  its  use  was  strictly  prohibited  to  the  common  class. 
All  that  these  operators  extracted  was  delivered  up  as  the 
property  of  the  Incas,  and  afterward  distributed  among  the 
pallas,  or  women  of  royal  blood,  who  used  it  as  an  ornament  at 
the  feasts,  painting  on  themselves  a  line  the  width  of  a  straw 
from  the  external  angle  of  the  eyes  to  the  temples.  The 
Indians  knew  very  well  how  to  extract  mercury  from  the 
Ychma  or  cinnabar,  and  the  law  which  prohibited  the  gene 
ral  use  of  this  substance  forbade  entirely  the  playing  with, 
seeking,  or  even  naming  it. 

Great  was  the  use  which  the  Peruvians  made  of  the  pre 
cious  metals.  They  used  them  as  offerings  to  their  deities, 
to  make  idols  and  sacred  vessels,  and  as  tributes  to  the 
Incas.  They  also  made  of  them  the  articles  which  the  kings 
used,  the  ornaments  of  their  palaces,  and  the  temples  of  the 
Sun  of  the  first  rank.  The  art  of  the  silversmiths  had 
attained  to  great  perfection ;  and  if  similar  progress  had  been 
made  in  the  art  of  moulding,  the  works  of  art  of  the  Peru 
vians  would,  perhaps,  at  this  day  have  rivalled  those  of  the 
most  polished  nations  of  antiquity. 

The  silversmiths  knew  how  to  melt  the  metal,  to  cast  it 

*  For  a  history  of  this  mine  and  its  products,  see  the  memoir  of  the 
rich  mineral  of  quicksilver  of  Huancavelica,  by  Don  Mariano  Eduardo 
de  Rivero,  published  in  Lima  in  1848. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  217 

in  moulds,  to  inlay  it,  to  solder  it,  and  to  hammer  it.  They 
used  for  the  melting  of  it,  as  I  have  already  said,  small  ovens 
provided  with  tubes  of  copper  through  which  the  air  passed. 
The  moulds  were  made  of  a  species  of  clay  mixed  with 
gypsum,  as  has  been  proved  by  an  analysis  of  a  mould  of 
an  idol  belonging  to  a  nation  of  natives  in  the  Sierra,  which 
was  taken  to  Europe.  The  moulded  metals  are  chiselled  in 
such  perfection,  that  we  cannot  discover  in  them  the  slightest 
inequality  resulting  from  the  mould.  In  some  of  these 
moulded  figures,  we  discover  bits  of  copper,  silver,  and  pure 
gold  so  well  inlaid  that  they  seem  to  form  a  whole.  Much 
admiration  has  been  excited  also  by  the  skill  with  which 
they  made  their  hammered  works.  We  do  not  know  the 
method  used  in  this  art ;  most  probably  it  was  very  similar 
to  that  of  our  silversmiths.  There  are  two  classes  of  these 
works :  one  consists  of  figures  and  animals  beaten  out  first 
into  thin  plates  of  gold  or  silver,  and  afterward  soldered 
together  into  the  proper  form ;  the  second  in  open  vases,  on 
the  sides  of  which  are  figures,  somewhat  coarse  in  design, 
hammered  with  the  greatest  skill,  in  such  a  manner  that  you 
cannot  recognize  the  blow  of  the  hammer.  The  soldering  is 
distinguished  by  its  solidity,  all  other  parts  breaking  first, 
and  by  the  perfect  union  of  the  soldered  parts.  Some 
authors  have  pretended  that  in  many  of  the  hollow  idols 
there  is  no  soldering,  but  it  is  a  mistake,  for  if  we  examine 
carefully  the  pieces,  we  may  still  discover  the  points  of 
reunion,  though  almost  entirely  effaced  by  the  very  perfect 
burnishing. 

The  art  of  gilding  was  unknown  to  the  Peruvians,  but 
they  supplied  the  deficiency  in  a  solid  manner,  b}^  covering 
the  copper  or  timber  with  very  thin  leaves  of  gold  or  silver, 
which  they  knew  how  to  fasten  closely  even  to  stones. 
They  also  extracted  threads  from  the  precious  metals,  of 
10 


218  TERU. 

admirable  thinness,  using  them  to  imitate  the  fibres  of  the 
ears  of  corn,  weaving  them  also  into  linen,  etc. 

Unfortunately,  the  first  works  of  the  art  of  the  silversmith 
have  not  come  down  to  our  time,  they  having  been  destroyed 
by  the  covetousness  of  the  invaders,  and  the  hatred  of  the 
natives  toward  them.  All  the  manufactures  of  gold  and 
silver  which  the  Spaniards  met  with  were  cast  in  clay,  and 
most  of  them  were  sent  to  the  peninsula ;  and  the  Indians, 
when  they  saw  the  desire  which  the  conquerors  had  to 
possess  similar  objects,  buried  them,  destroyed  them,  or  threw 
them  into  the  lakes.  Those  which  have  come  down  to  us 
are  objects  of  an  inferior  class,  and  incapable  of  giving  one  an 
exact  idea  of  the  perfection  to  which  the  Peruvians  attained 
in  this  species  of  work,  and  we  can  gather  the  best  informa 
tion  about  them  from  the  unanimous  accounts  of  the  ancient 
Spanish  chroniclers  who  had  an  opportunity  to  see  them ; 
some  of  these  we  will  here  quote :  "  They  had  an  artificial 
garden,  the  soil  of  which  was  made  of  small  pieces  of  fine 
gold,  and  this  was  artificially  sowed  with  different  kinds  of 
maize  which  were  of  gold,  their  stems,  leaves,  and  ears ;  and 
they  were  so  firmly  planted,  that  although  they  had  strong 
winds,  they  were  not  torn  up.  Beside  all  this,  they  had  more 
than  twenty  sheep  of  gold  with  their  lambs,  and  the  shepherds 
with  their  slings  and  crooks  guarding  them,  made  of  this 
metal.  There  was  a  large  quantity  of  jars,  of  gold,  silver, 
and  emeralds  ;  vases  the  likeness  of  earthen  pots,  and  indeed 
all  species  of  vessels,  all  of  fine  gold.  They  had  also  statu 
ary  and  other  larger  objects  painted ;  in  fact,  it  was  one  of 
the  richest  temples  in  the  world." — (Sarmiento,  Relation  MS., 
in  Prescott's  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru,  Book  I.  Chap. 
III.)  Similar  gardens  were  made  in  all  the  royal  palaces 
and  temples  of  the  Sun.  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara  says 
(Hist.  Gen.  Chap.  121):  "  All  the  service  of  his  house  (i.  e. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  219 

the  Inca's),  both  of  table  and  kitchen,  was  of  gold  and  silver, 
except  a  part,  which  was  of  silver  and  copper,  for  the  sake  of 
strength.  He  had  in  his  withdrawing-room  hollow  statues 
of  gold,  which  seemed  gigantic;  and  elsewhere,  figures 
of  natural  size,  resembling  many  animals,  also  of  birds,  and 
of  such  trees  and  herbs  as  the  earth  yielded,  arid  of  such 
fishes  as  were  found  in  the  sea  and  in  the  waters  of  the  king 
dom.  He  had  imitations  of  grass  ropes,  sacks,  baskets,  and 
knapsacks,  all  made  of  gold  and  silver ;  heaps  of  sticks  of  gold 
which  were  in  the  form  of  billets  of  wood  for  burning.  In 
fact,  there  was  nothing  in  the  country  which  was  not  imitated 
in  gold ;  and  they  say  that  the  Incas  had  also  a  flower  garden 
in  an  island  near  Puna,  where  they  went  to  rest  when  they 
wanted  to  enjoy  the  sea,  which  possessed  all  kinds  of  herbs, 
trees  and  flowers  of  gold  and  silver ;  an  invention  and  gran 
deur  until  then  never  seen.  Beside  this,  they  had  an  immense 
quantity  of  gold  and  silver  to  work  in  Cuzco,  which  was 
lost  by  the  death  of  Huascar ;  where  the  Indians  concealed 
it,  seeing  that  the  Spaniards  would  take  it  to  send  into 
Spain."  In  the  palace  of  Tumebamba,  says  the  Chronicler 
Ciega  de  Leon,  in  the  XLIY.  chapter :  u  Within  the  apartments 
were  bundles  of  gold,  straw,  and  on  the  walls  were  sculptured 
sheep  and  lambs  of  the  same  metal,  and  birds,  and  many  other 
things.  Beside  this,  they  related  that  they  had  an  immense 
amount  of  treasure  in  vessels  and  pots,  and  other  things  ;  and 
many  rich  blankets  embroidered  in  silver  and  white  glass 
beads."  Garcilasso  de  la  Yega  (Com.  Eoyal,  Book  VI. 
Chap.  II.),  speaking  of  the  royal  houses,  expresses  himself  in 
these  ^3rms :  "  In  all  of  them  were  gardens  and  orchards, 
where  the  Inca  refreshed  himself.  They  planted  in  them  all 
the  fine  and  beautiful  trees  and  odoriferous  plants  which 
abounded  in  the  kingdom ;  after  which  models  they  imitated 
in  gold  and  silver,  many  trees  and  other  smaller  bushes  most 


220  PERU. 

perfectly,  with  their  leaves,  flowers,  and  fruits ;  some  seemed 
about  to  bud,  others  were  half  ripened  or  matured,  and 
others  entire  and  perfect  in  their  size.  Beside  these  and 
others,  they  made  counterfeit  resemblances  of  various  spe 
cies  of  corn  most  naturally,  with  their  leaves,  ear  and  stern, 
with  their  roots  and  flowers ;  and  the  fibres  which  are  found 
in  the  ear  and  stem  were  of  gold ;  and  all  the  rest  of  silver, 
soldered  together,  and  the  same  difference  was  made  in  the 
other  plants,  so  that  the  flower,  or  whatever  other  part  in 
clined  to  yellow,  was  imitated  in  gold,  and  the  rest  in  silver. 
There  were  also  to  be  seen  animals,  large  and  small,  cast  in 
gold  and  silver ;  such  as  rabbits,  lizards,  snakes,  butterflies, 
foxes  and  mountain  cats.  There  were  to  be  seen  birds  of 
all  descriptions,  some  placed  in  the  trees,  as  if  singing,  others 
were  flying  about  and  sucking  the  honey  from  the  flowers. 
There  were  also  deer  and  fawns,  lions  and  tigers,  and  all 
the  other  animals  and  birds  which  the  country  produced,  each 
thing  in  its  place,  as  true  to  nature  as  the  reality.  In  many 
houses  there  were  baths  with  large  jars  of  silver  and  gold, 
from  which  water  was  brought  into  the  baths.  And  where 
there  were  natural  fountains  of  warm  water,  there  were  also 
baths  made  of  great  splendor  and  richness.  Among  other 
displays  of  wealth  there  were  collections  of  billets  of  wood, 
imitated  in  gold  and  silver,  as  though  they  were  deposited 
to  be  expended  in  the  service  of  the  houses."  In  his  first 
chapter  the  same  author  says:  "The  Inca  seated  himself 
ordinarily  on  a  seat  of  massive  gold  which  they  called  Tiana ; 
it  was  a  third  of  a  yard  in  height,  without  arms  or  back,  and 
without  any  concavity  for  the  sitter;  they  placed  itdipon  a 
large  square  block  of  gold.  The  vessels  of  all  the  service 
of  the  house,  as  well  of  the  table  as  of  the  buttery  and 
kitchen,  small  and  great,  were  of  gold  and  silver ;  and  there 
was  a  deposit  of  them  made  in  each  house,  so  that  when 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  221 

the  king  travelled,  they  shouldnot  be  obliged  to  carry  them 
from  one  place  to  another,  so  that  everything  necessary,  as 
well  on  the  public  roads  as  throughout  all  the  provinces, 
should  be  provided  for  the  Inca  when  he  arrived  there, 
either  travelling  with  his  army  or  visiting  his  kingdoms. 
There  were  also  to  be  seen  in  these  royal  houses  many  imi 
tations  of  granaries  and  banks  of  earth,  which  the  Indians  call 
Pirua,  made  of  gold  and  silver,  not  to  inclose  grain,  but  to 
add  to  the  grandeur  and  majesty  of  the  house  and  of  its  Lord." 
These  accounts  of  Garcilasso  are  confirmed  by  his  prede 
cessor,  the  Controller  of  Accounts,  D.  Agustin  de  Zarrate, 
(Conq.  of  Peru,  Book  I.  Chap.  XIY.)  who  says:  "They 
held  gold  in  great  esteem,  because  out  of  it  the  king  and 
his  princes  had  made  vases  for  their  service,  and  of  it  they 
made  jewels  for  their  apparel,  and  they  offered  it  in  the 
temples ;  and  the  king  possessed  a  block,  on  which  he  sat, 
of  gold  of  sixteen  carats,  which  was  worth  in  good  gold 
more  than  twentj^-five  thousand  ducats ;  this,  Don  Francisco 
Pizarro  selected  for  his  prize  at  the  time  of  the  conquest, 
because,  conformably  to  the  capitulation,  he  was  to  have 
given  to  him  a  jewel  or  prize  which  he  should  select  aside 
from  the  common  store.  The  same  Don  Francisco  de 
Pizarro  wrote  to  the  Court  from  Jauja,  the  5th  of  July, 
1534,  that  besides  the  large  bars  and  vessels  of  gold,  he  had 
found  four  sheep  (llamas)  and  ten  statues  of  women,  of  the 
natural  size,  of  the  finest  gold  and  also  of  silver,  and  a 
cistern  of  gold  so  curious,  that  it  excited  the  wonder  of  all." 
And  the  anonymous  author  of  the  Conquest  and  Settlement 
of  Per.u,  MS.  (se"e  Prescott,)  relates  as  follows,  speaking  of 
the  temple  of  the  Sun :  "  The  model  of  the  Sun  contained 
an  immense  mass  of  gold,  and  all  the  service  of  the  house 
was  of  silver  and  gold ;  there  were  twelve  receptacles  or 
bins  of  silver,  so  large  that  two  men,  with  arms  extended, 


222  PERU. 

could  not  embrace  them,  each  one  being  square  ;  they  were 
higher  than  a  good  pike  or  lance  ;  in  these  were  placed  the 
corn  which  they  gave  the  Sun." 

These  accounts  suffice  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the  number 
of  works  of  gold  and  silver  of  the  ancient  Peruvians,  and 
of  the  singular  perfection  with  which  they  accomplished 
them.  In  the  histories  of  Ciega  de  Leon,  Acosta,  Zarrate, 
Levinus-Apollonius,  Calancha,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Gomara 
and  Montesinos,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  may  be  found  further  infor 
mation  upon  this  point. 

Of  copper  very  few  manufactured  articles  are  found ;  it 
seems  that  they  did  not  know  how  to  work  this  metal  as 
perfectly  as  silver  and  gold ;  notwithstanding,  the  Museum 
of  Lima  preserves  some  vases  of  copper  very  thin,  some 
idols,  instruments,  and  two  solid  staves  a  yard  long,  with 
serpents  inlaid,  which  were  recently  discovered  in  the  de 
partment  of  Puno.  One  of  the  most  interesting  pieces  of 
this  metal  which  we  have  seen,  was  found  in  a  sepulchre 
between  Huaura  and  Huillcahuaura,  and  formed,  judging 
from  appearances,  the  upper  part  of  a  sceptre  or  staff  or 
some  badge  of  royalty.  It  is  six  inches  in  length,  and  one 
inch  in  diameter ;  an  inch  and  a  half  from  its  lower  open 
ing  is  found  in  the  interior  a  dividing  wall,  as  far  as  which 
might  be  thrust  the  staff  or  rod  which  it  surmounted. 

Upon  the  upper  part  of  this  reposes  a  bird  (its  mate 
is  broken  off),  which  represents,  judging  from  the  beak,  a 
flamingo,  although  the  neck  and  feet  are  too  short  for  a  bird 
of  this  species ;  on  the  right  side  of  the  cylinder  are  three 
pairs  of  birds  descending,  and  the  same  on  the  left,  ascend 
ing.  The  first  pair  of  these  is  small,  large-headed,  with 
straight,  large  beaks ;  the  second,  much  larger,  represent  in  a 
manner  which  cannot  be  mistaken,  owls ;  the  third  is  like 
the  first.  The  lower  ones  of  those  on  the  left  side  are  small, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  223 

the  heads  large,  with  a  crest ;  the  following  are  Yanahmcus 
(Ibis.  Ordi.  of  Bonaparte),  with  their  beaks  large  and  almost 
straight ;  the  upper  ones  are  large,  the  beaks  in  form  of  a 
hook ;  in  front  they  have  a  high  crest  and  the  neck  bound 
with  a  collar  sufficiently  wide,  so  that  they  may  be  easily 
characterized  as  male  Condors. 

No  less  admirable  was  the  progress  of  the  Peruvians  in  the 
art  of  weaving  and  dyeing.  Without  a  loom  or  any  other 
machine,  but  with  the  most  simple  manipulation,  they  knew 
how  to  fabricate  finished  cloths,  very  artificially  interwoven 
with  designs  and  ornaments.  They  wove  cotton  and  wool ; 
of  the  first,  they  made  cloth  of  two  kinds ;  the  common  white 
cotton  and  the  brownish  or  color  of  the  Vicuna,  which  they 
reared  principally  in  the  warm  valleys  of  the  eastern  declivity 
of  the  Andes.  The  four  species  of  the  family  of  the 
American  camel  provided  them  with  wool ;  these  four  were 
two  domestic  ones,  the  llama  and  the  alpaca ;  and  the  two 
wild  ones,  the  huanaco  and  the  vicuna.  For  the  coarser 
cloth,  they  used  the  wool  of  the  llama  and  of  the  huanaco ; 
for  the  finer,  that  of  the  alpaca  and  the  vicuna.  The  com 
mon  class  were  clothed  in  the  first,  the  nobles  and  princes 
with  the  wool  of  the  alpaca,  and  the  Incas  with  cloth  of  the 
wool  of  the  vicuna ;  with  which  they,  at  times,  by  way  of 
favor  and  distinction,  honored  the  noble  Lords.  It  was 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  chosen  virgins  and  pallas  to 
spin  and  weave  the  wool  of  the  vicuna,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  they  had  attained  to  the  greatest  perfection  in 
this  art,  and  that  their  works  were  remarkable  for  their  rare 
fineness  and  their  beautiful  designs.  a  The  coverings  of  the 
bed  were  blankets,  and  friezes  of  wool  of  vicuna,  which  is 
so  fine  and  so  much  prized,  that,  among  other  precious 
things  from  that  land,  they  have  been  brought  for  the  bed 
of  Don  Philip  the  2d."— (G-arcilasso,  Com.  Book  YI.  Chap.  I.) 


22-i 

They  possessed  the  secret  of  fixing  the  dye  of  all  colors, 
flesh-color,  yellow,  gray,  blue,  green,  black,  etc.,  so  firmly 
in  the  thread,  or  in  the  cloth  already  woven,  that  they  never 
faded  during  the  lapse  of  ages,  even  although  exposed  to 
the  air,  or  buried  under  ground.  Only  the  cotton  ones 
became  slightly  discolored,  whilst  the  woollen  ones  pre 
served  their  primitive  lustre.  It  is  a  circumstance  worth 
remarking  that  a  chemical  analysis  made  of  pieces  of  cloth 
of  all  the  different  dyes,  proves  that  the  Indians  extracted 
all  their  colors  from  the  vegetable,  and  none  from  the  mine 
ral  kindom.  In  fact,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Peruvian  moun 
tains  now  use  plants  unknown  to  the  Europeans ;  producing 
from  them  bright  and  lasting  colors. 

They  were  accustomed  to  ornament  their  textures  by  sewing 
upon  them  their  leaves  of  gold  and  silver,  or  small  pieces  of 
mother  of  pearl,  and  bunches  of  feathers  as  a  substitute  for 
fringe  :  but  they  also  made  fringes,  laces  and  tassels  of  wool 
and  cotton  to  adorn  carpets  and  tapestries. 

All  the  fine  textures  of  wool  which  we  have  had  occasion 
to  examine,  are  as  strong  as  they  are  beautiful  in  color  and 
design :  those  of  cotton  have  suffered  more  from  time,  and 
those  supplied  by  the  Huacas  are  very  frail,  and  seldom  as 
fine  as  those  of  the  wool  of  the  Vicuna.  In  the  provinces  of 
the  coast  they  use  more  of  the  cotton,  and  in  those  of  the 
Sierra,  as  it  is  much  colder,  they  use  more  of  the  woollen. 

The  Peruvians  did  not  know  the  art  of  tanning  the  skins 
with  bark.  The  skins  of  the  llamas,  huanacos,  etc.,  they 
tanned  or  dressed  in  large  vessels  or  in  holes  and  folded  them 
in  rich  earth,  leaving  them  for  some  time  with  stale  urine, 
and  beating  them  afterward.  The  almost  exclusive  use  of 
these  tanned  skins  was  reserved  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
Usutas  or  Llanquis  (sandals)  of  the  people,  and  to  hang  up  as 
doors. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  225 

In  treating  next  of  the  works  of  the  ancient  potters,  we 
shall  begin  by  making  some  preliminary  observations  upon 
this  branch,  which,  not  having  excited  by  its  nature  the  rapa 
city  of  the  conquerors,  has  been  better  preserved  in  numerous 
objects,  some  for  curiosity,  some  for  domestic  use. 

If  we  examine  the  principles  of  the  plastic  art  among 
different  nations,  we  shall  see  that  although  the  artists 
always  intended  to  represent  a  whole  figure,  yet,  wanting  in 
dexterity  or  skill  and  a  correct  execution  of  the  exact  pro 
portions,  they  exaggerated  the  relative  size  of  the  parts.  In 
the  representation  of  men  and  animals,  we  generally  find  in 
excess  the  head  or  some  organ  belonging  to  it ;  thus  we  ob 
serve  in  the  Egyptian  statues  the  eyes  fronting  the  observer 
and  the  face  in  profile ;  and  in  the  Peruvian  modelling,  the 
nose  and  ears  are  above  their  natural  size.  Among  the 
Egyptians,  long  figures  predominate  ;  among  the  Peruvians, 
short  and  bulky  ones ;  and  among  them  we  find  a  greater 
want  of  proportions  than  in  those  of  many  other  nations 
which  we  have  had  occasion  to  examine.  In  the  most 
ancient  specimens  of  the  Peruvians,  the  head  always  forms 
the  principal  part,  and  presents  a  marked  appearance,  indi 
cating  that  the  artist  exhausted  upon  it  all  his  skill :  the  body 
forms  a  deformed  mass,  and  the  extremities  are  appendages 
of  the  least  importance,  having  sometimes  only  a  tenth  part 
of  the  correct  proportions  as  compared  with  the  head.  This 
is  found  as  well  in  human  figures  as  in  animals. 

It  is  a  general  observation  that  the  most  ancient  monu 
ments  represent  Deities ;  and  beginning  with  a  primitive 
monotheistic  religion  (in  which  all  the  nations  of  the  world 
participated),  it  may  be  easily  proved  that  the  plastic  art  ori 
ginated  at  the  time  when,  the  nations  leaving  their  funda 
mental  religion,  became  converted  to  polytheism.  Among 
the  Peruvians  we  discover  in  the  Huacas  and  Conopas  the 

10* 


226  PERU. 

beginnings  of  the  art,  and  in  them  and  the  vessels  destined 
for  the  sacrifice  of  the  Deities,  we  may  easily  trace  its  pro 
gress. 

In  order  to  pronounce  a  just  opinion  upon  this  point,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  examined  a  very  large  number  of  the 
works  of  art,  and  to  have  followed  in  this  examination  fixed 
rules,  generally  adopted  by  all  critics,  not  allowing  one's  self  to 
be  carried  away  by  secondary  circumstances ;  among  these 
the  principal  ones  are  the  skill  of  the  workmanship  and  the 
state  of  cultivation  of  the  province  where  it  is  found. 

A  critical  observation  attests  that  the  works  of  art  of  the 
province  which  was  governed  by  the  chief  Ghimu-Canchu, 
and  those  found  in  the  imperial  city  of  Cuzco  and  its  vicinity, 
are  much  more  perfect  and  correct  than  those  which  are  seen 
in  the  Sierra  and  on  the  coast  of  Central  Peru. 

All  the  moulded  works  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  have  a 
peculiar  character  which  distinguishes  them  from  those  of 
the  other  American  nations ;  a  character  which,  by  those 
versed  in  antiquities,  will  be  recognized  at  first  sight.  Some 
of  them  bear  a  certain  resemblance  to  the  forms  presented  by 
the  old  continent ;  especially  the  most  simple  :  such  is  a  seated 
figure  which  has  an  Egyptian  type  ;  a  vase  which  may  pass 
for  Etruscan,  and  a  blackish  vessel  that  has  been  found,  seems 
to  be  identical  with  those  of  the  Celtic-Germans  ;  so  perfect, 
indeed,  is  the  resemblance  that  if  mixed  with  the  known 
remains  of  those  countries,  the  archaeologist  would  find  no 
difference  between  them :  but  these  works,  so  simple,  and  so 
easy  to  manufacture,  cannot  serve  as  a  criterion  to  denote 
the  special  character  of  the  works  of  art  of  any  nation. 

All  the  skill  of  the  Peruvian  potters  was  laid  out  upon  the 
manufacture  of  the  Huacas,  Conopas  and  sacred  vessels  which 
they  placed  with  the  corpses  in  the  sepulchres.  The  kitchen 
furniture  and  other  vessels  for  domestic  use  are  very  simple, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  227 

and  without  art.  The  material  which  they  made  use  of  was 
colored  clay  and  blackish  earth,  which  they  prepared  so 
well,  that  it  completely  resisted  fire,  and  did  not  absorb 
liquids.  It  seems  that  they  did  not  burn  the  vessels,  since 
the  substance  of  these  differed  very  materially  from  burnt 
clay,  and  judging  from  appearances,  they  dried  it  in  the  sun, 
after  having  prepared  and  mixed  it  in  a  manner  of  which  we 
are  ignorant.  At  this  day  there  exist  in  many  houses, 
pitchers,  large  jars  and  earthen  pots  of  this  material,  and  they 
are  generally  preferred  for  their  solidity  to  those  which  are 
manufactured  by  our  own  potters,  a  proof  of  their  superiority. 
The  greater  part  of  the  sacred  vessels,  buried  with  the 
mallquis  and  destined  to  receive  the  chicha  of  sacrifice  on 
feast  days,  have  an  enlarged  neck,  placed  ordinarily  near 
the  handle,  with  a  hole  to  pour  out  the  liquid,  and  an 
opposite  opening,  for  the  air  to  escape  when  the  vessel  is 
filled.  Many  are  double,  and  it  seems  that  they  made  them 
thus  from  preference ;  others  are  quadruple,  or  sextuple,  or 
even  octuple,  that  is,  the  principal  vessel  is  surrounded  with 
regular  appendages,  which  communicate  among  themselves, 
and  with  the  principal  vessel.  The  double  ones  were  made 
in  such  perfection,  that  when  they  were  filled  with  a  liquid, 
the  air  escaping  through  the  opening  left  for  that  purpose, 
produced  sounds  at  times  very  musical :  these  sounds  some 
times  imitated  the  voice  of  the  animal  which  wras  represented 
by  the  principal  part  of  the  vessel,  as  in  a  beautiful  specimen 
we  have  seen,  which  represents  a  cat,  and  which,  upon  receiv 
ing  water  through  the  upper  opening,  produces  a  sound 
similar  to  the  mewing  of  that  animal.  We  have  in  our  pos 
session  a  vessel  of  black  clay,  which  perfectly  imitates  the 
whistle  of  the  thrush,  the  form  of  which  is  seen  on  the  handle. 
We  also  preserve  two  circular  vases,  which^.being  filled  with 
water,  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom,  on  being  turned  overr  lose 


228  PERU. 

not  a  single  drop,  the  water  coming  out  when  it  is  wished,  by 
simply  inclining  the  upper  part  of  the  vase :  which  proves  that 
the  Peruvian  artisans  had  perhaps  some  knowledge  of  atmo 
spheric  pressure. 

On  many  of  the  sacred  vessels  there  are  designs  'and  paint 
ings,  which,  however,  give  an  idea  of  the  progress  of  the  art 
of  designing  among  the  Peruvians.  The  architectural  designs 
with  straight  lines  are  the  only  parts  correct  and  even  beau 
tiful  in  appearance ;  but  all  the  designs  with  curved  lines, 
such  as  the  representation  of  men  and  animals,  are  of  little 
value.  There  is  one  worthy  of  notice  which  is  seen  very 
often,  either  painted  011  vessels  of  clay,  or  engraved  on  the 
arms,  or  worked  in  raised  work  in  gold  or  silver,  and  repre 
sents  a  man  with  the  arms  open  holding  in  his  hands  staves 
similar  to  lances  (Chuqui),  and  the  head  covered  with  a 
broad  cap.  There  is  no  doubt  that  these  figures  represent 
Deities  (Huacas) ;  others  have  long  garments,  and  on  the 
head  a  species  of  mitre,  showing  themselves  also  to  be 
Huacas,  as  may  be  inferred  from  what  Garcilasso  relates 
(Hist.  Chap.  121),  saying  "  that  the  Indians,  when  they  saw 
the  bishop,  Don  F.  Geronimo  Loayza,  asked  if  he  were  the 
Huaca  of  the  Christians." 

In  some  ancient  edifices  we  recognize  even  now  the  re 
mains  of  architectural  paintings;  and  according  to  all  appear 
ances,  the  Peruvians  know  not  how  to  paint  the  walls  of 
their  palaces  in  any  other  manner,  leaving  the  art  of  design 
among  themselves  always  in  its  first  infancy.  Neither  did 
they  attain  to  sculpturing  light  figures,  or  groups  in  relievo, 
in  such  perfection  as  the  Mexicans,  who  distinguished  them 
selves  extraordinarily  in  this  work. 

The  ancient  historians  leave  us  in  obscurity  respecting 
Peruvian  paintings ;  a  certain  proof  that  they  were  not  re 
markable.  Garcilasso  de  la  Yega  only  (Royal  Com.  Book 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  229 

V.,  Chap.  XXIII.)  speaks  of  the  famous  painting  of  the  two 
condors,  which  the  Inca  Viracoclia  commanded  to  be  made 
on  a  very  high  rock,  on  the  spot  where  his  father  passed, 
when  he  came  from  Cuzco,  on  his  return  from  the  Chancas. 
Says  this  author,  "  These  two  birds  he  ordered  to  be  painted, 
the  one  with  closed  wings,  and  the  head  lowered,  as  the 
birds  place  themselves,  when  they  wish  to  hide  from  wild 
beasts,  with  the  face  toward  Collasuyu,  and  the  back  toward 
Cuzco.  The  other  he  ordered  to  be  painted  in  a  contrary 
way,  with  the  face  turned  toward  the  cit}^  and  ferocious, 
with  wings  extended,  as  if  swooping  to  seize  some  prize. 
The  Indians  said  that  the  one  Condor  represented  his  father, 
who  had  flown  from  Cuzco,  and  had  gone  to  hide  himself  in 
Collao ;  and  the  other  represented  the  Inca  Yiracocha,  who 
had  come  back  flying  to  defend  the  city  and  the  whole 
empire.  This  painting  existed  in  good  order  in  the  year 
1580,  and  in  the  year  95,  I  asked  a  Creole  priest  who  came 
from  Peru  to  Spain  if  he  had  seen  it,  and  how  it  appeared  ? 
He  said  it  was  very  much  obliterated,  that  scarcely  anything 
was  to  be  seen  of  it ;  because  time  with  its  streams,  and  a 
carelessness  as  to  its  perpetuation,  as  well  as  that  of  other 
monuments  similar  to  it,  had  ruined  it." 

The  Peruvian  Indians  have  attained  in  this  day  to  some 
skill  in  this  art,  principally  those  of  Cuzco  and  Quito,  where 
they  are  accustomed  to  paint  in  oil  the  portraits  of  the  Incas 
and  images  of  the  saints. 

It  now  only  remains  for  us  to  speak  of  the  art  in  which 
the  ancient  Peruvians  excelled,  that  is,  architecture,  and  its 
accompaniment,  the  art  of  hewing  stone.  In  contemplating 
the  stones  artificially  cut  which  we  find  in  the  ancient  palaces, 
or  in  the  form  of  statues,  cups,  vases,  and  rings  in  the  sepul 
chres,  they  will  suggest  ideas  of  the  most  profound  wonder 
to  the  thoughtful  man  who  seeks  to  explain  the  manner  in 


230  PEEU. 

which  the  ancients  attained  to  making  works  of  such  rare 
perfection  without  instruments  of  iron  and  steel.  For  three 
centuries  past,  wise  men  of  all  nations  have  attempted  the 
solution  of  this  problem,  without  having  been  able,  up  to  the 
present  day,  to  arrive  at  any  positive  knowledge  regarding 
this  singular  manipulation.  It  is  certain  that  the  tools 
already  spokeq  of,  made  of  a  mixture  of  copper  and  tin,  or 
of  copper  and  flint,  were  not  sufficient  to  work  upon  the 
hardest  minerals.  Trials  made  in  our  day  with  chisels  of 
these  materials,  found  in  the  Peruvian  Huacas,  have  proved 
that  such  tools  have  much  less  hardness  than  those  of  steel, 
and  that,  in  using  them  upon  hard  stones,  such  as  marble  or 
granite,  they  soon  become  blunted,  and  useless.  Neverthe 
less,  it  seems  that  they  made  some  use  at  least  of  such  instru 
ments,  and  that  they  knew  how  to  sharpen  them  easily.  In 
our  opinion,  they  used  them  only  to  break  'the  stones  and 
give  them  the  first  rough  form,  but  they  used  other  means 
to  plane  and  polish  them ;  and  according  to  appearances 
they  did  it  by  means  of  a  toilsome  and  slow  manipulation, 
rubbing  them,  no\v  with  pieces  of  other  stones,  now  with 
powder  of  the  same,  and  now,  to  put  the  last  polish  upon  them, 
with  herbs  which  contain  flint,  similar  to  the  "  horse-tail,"  or 
"shave-grass"  of  Spain.  The  ancient  proverb  gutta  cavat 
lapidem*  may  here  be  justly  applied,  and  the  objection  that 
it  is  too  laborious,  has  its  refutation  in  the  quiet  and  patient 
disposition  of  the  Indians,  who,  accustomed  for  generations  to  a 
daily  repetition  of  their  occupations,  continued  throughout  en 
tire  years,  with  the  greatest  indolence,  the  most  monotonous 
labor ;  moreover,  this  proceeding  is  the  most  simple  and  natural. 
After  having  considered  with  the  utmost  scrupulousness  all 
the  circumstances,  we  cannot  explain  in  any  other  way  the 
raised  work  on  rings  of  emeralds,  on  jasper,  granite,  and 
*  u  Constant  dropping  wears  away  the  stone." 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


231 


basalt,  the  cups,  vases,  idols  of  marble,  porphyry,  granite, 
and  other  of  the  hardest  minerals,  and  in  general,  the  finest 
works  of  stone  among  the  ancient  Peruvians. 

For  architectural  works  they  ordinarily  used  square  stones 
and  also  polygons,  and  sometimes  of  spherical  shape,  such 
as  are  found  among  the  interesting  ruins  of  the  palace  of 
Limatambo.  The  exactitude  with  which  they  formed  them 
was  such  that,  using  them  in  the  construction  of  their  edi 
fices,  the  fronts  and  angles  were  so  closely  cemented  that 
there  was  but  the  smallest  possible  space  existing  between 
them.  The  size  of  these  stones  is  very  different,  ordinarily 
from  one  to  two  yards  in  height,  and  the  same  in  length ; 
but  we  have  measured  some  which  were  twelve  yards  in 
length,  and  eight  in  height. 

In  order  to  give  an  idea  of  the  size  of  the  stones,  we  insert 
here  the  design  of  a  part  of  the  fortification  at  the  entrance 
to  Ollantaytamlo  on  the  side  of  Cuzco. 


a&i  PERU. 

Father  Acosta  (Book  YI.  Chap.  XIY.)  says :  "  In  Tiagua- 
naco,  I  measured  a  stone  of  thirty-eight  feet  in  length,  and 
eighteen  in  width,  and  its  thickness  was  six  feet ;  and  in  the 
wall  of  the  fortress  of  Cuzco,  which  is  built  without  plum 
mets,  there  are  many  stones  of  much  greater  size."  The 
stone,  causing  so  much  labor,  of  which  Garcilasso  speaks, 
(Book  YII.  Chap.  XXIX.,)  surpassed  all,  but  was  not 
placed  in  the  position  destined  for  it  in  the  fortress  of  Cuzco, 
In  its  transportation  it  overcame,  according  to  this  author, 
the  strength  of  the  men  who  were  supporting  it,  and  rolling 
over,  killed  three  or  four  hundred  Indians ;  this  we  believe 
to  be  an  exaggeration,  knowing  as  we  do  the  timidity  of 
these  people  und  the  caution  which  they  use  in  their  labors. 

Here  arises  the  question  :  How  did  they  transport  these 
heavy  masses  to  their  appointed  places,  and  how  did  they 
raise  them  to  the  necessary  height,  being  deficient  in  all  that 
mechanical  knowledge  which  in  our  days  much  facilitates 
those  operations  ?  The  answer  is  found  in  the  social  institu 
tions,  already  mentioned,  among  the  ancient  Peruvians.  For 
the  construction  of  private  houses  all  the  people  assembled, 
and  for  the  public  buildings,  all  the  able  inhabitants  from  one 
or  more  provinces :  thus  they  supplied  by  the  number  of 
people  and  disposable  forces  the  want  of  auxiliary  means. 

A  serious  error  made  by  the  greater  part  of  ancient  and 
modern  historians,  is  in  the  statement  that  the  Peruvians  did 
not  use  any  cement  or  mortar  in  putting  together  stones  for 
their  edifices;  for  they  had  cements  of  different  kinds.  For  the 
palaces,  temples,  baths  and  all  the  other  edifices  constructed 
of  polished  stones,  they  used  instead  of  mortar  either  a  clay 
very  soluble  and  remarkably  adherent,  called  Lancac-Allpa, 
or  a  mixture  of  lime,  Tscu  (which  they  burnt  and  slaked,  as 
is  done  at  the  present  day,)  with  a  species  of  bitumen,  the 
use  of  which  has  been  lost,  (See  Gomara}  Hist.  Gen.  Chap. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  233 

194) ;  and  for  the  buildings  of  less  importance,  constructed 
of  rougli  stone,  they  employed  a  mortar  made  of  lime 
(Pachachi),  with  coarse  sand  ;  as  we  see  even  now  in  many  of 
the  old  towns  among  them. 

Designs  of  all  classes  of  Peruvian  architecture,  from  the 
imposing  palace  to  the  rustic  hut,  have  resisted  the  destruc 
tive  tooth  of  time,  and  permitted  us,  aided  by  the  relations 
of  the  contemporaneous  authors  of  the  conquest,  to  give  a 
correct  general  idea  of  them. 

The  private  houses  were  very  simple,  and  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  province,  were  either  of  stones,  or  of  bricks, 
or  of  cane,  as  on  the  coast.  The  bricks,  or  more  properly 
adobes,  unbaked  bricks  (Ticacuna  in  the  Quichua  language), 
were  made  of  clay  mixed  with  the  grass  Jehu,  cut  somewhat 
fine  like  chaff,  intimately  mixed  and  pressed.  They  were 
made  in  a  rectangular  form,  as  large  as  the  thickness  of  the 
wall  which  they  were  going  to  construct  with  them  ;  from 
six  to  eight  inches  in  height,  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  in 
Avidth :  after  being  formed  they  were  exposed  for  a  year  or 
more  to  the  air  and  the  sun,  until  they  became  as  hard  as 
our  burnt  bricks.  Even  at  the  present  day  the  Indians 
make  their  adobes  in  the  same  way,  using  sometimes  instead 
of  Icliu  the  straw  of  cut  wheat,  or  even  dung. 

The  houses  were  small  and  of  few  rooms,  not  communi 
cating  with  each  other ;  each  one  had  a  door  opening  into 
the  court  or  street ;  the  door  also  answered  the  purpose  of  a 
window.  In  the  more  important  buildings  there  were  inter 
mediate  doors  and  windows  in  great  numbers,  (notwithstand 
ing  some  authors  erroneously  represent  the  contrary)  as  we 
may  still  see  in  many  ruins  of  palaces  and  temples.  In  the 
large  cities,  the  houses  touched  each  other  and  were  disposed 
in  rows,  front  joining  front,  thus  forming  straight  streets. 
The  general  plan  of  all  the  large  towns  was  similar  to  that 


234  PERU. 

of  the  greater  part  of  those  in  the  South  of  Europe  and  of 
those  now  in  Peru  :  a  square  with  the  principal  edifices  forms 
the  centre,  from  which  project,  in  the  direction  of  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  the  principal  streets.  In  many  towns 
of  the  Sierra,  the  dwellings  were  scattered  and  arranged 
without  order,  as  the  face  of  the  ground  permitted. 

We  have  observed  among  the  ruins  of  ancient  towns  in 
the  departments  oftTunin  and  Ayacuclio  houses  like  towers  and 
of  a  singular  construction,  and  of  considerable  size.  Each 
dwelling  is  square,  and  has  a  width  within  of  six  feet  and 
an  altitude  of  from  sixteen  to  eighteen.  The  walls  are  a 
foot  and  a  half  in  thickness,  and  in  the  eastern  one,  or  in 
that  of  the  south,  is  found  the  door,  'a  foot  and  a  half  in 
height  and  two  feet  in  width.  After  having  passed  into  the 
lower  entrance,  and  with  some  difficulty  through  this  open 
ing,  you  arrive  at  a  species  of  sitting-room,  five  and  a  half 
or  six  feet  in  height,  and  as  much  in  width.  The  walls  were 
naked,  but  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls,  there  are  small 
closets  which  served  to  keep  provisions,  and  you  sometimes 
see  in  them  ears  of  corn,  coca,  pots,  and  vessels.  The  roof 
of  these  apartments  is  made  of  large  flat  stones,  leaving  in 
the  middle  an  aperture  of  two  feet  in  diameter ;  mounting, 
not  without  difficulty,  through  this  opening,  you  arrive  at 
another  story  similar  to  the  first,  with  some  windows  like 
embrasures ;  its  roof  has  an  opening  like  the  ceiling  of  the 
first,  through  which  you  pass  to  the  third  compartment,  the 
roof  of  which,  formed  of  rough  stones,  serves  as  a  covor 
to  the  whole  dwelling.  This  uppermost  space  is  somewhat 
lower  than  the  two  inferior  ones,  and  was  probably  intended 
to  hold  the  provisions.  We  found  in  one  of  them  the  mum 
my  of  a  girl.  The  central  compartment  was  to  all  appear 
ance  the  dormitory,  and  a  stone  sufficiently  large,  which  is 
almost  always  found  in  it,  served  to  close  the  aperture  of  the 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  235 

floor ;  the  lower  one  was  at  the  same  time  a  dwelling-room 
and  a  kitchen,  and  we  can  very  easily  recognize  the  hearth. 
With  a  large  flat  stone  they  closed,  from  within,  the  outer 
door  of  the  house. 

Upon  digging  or  excavating  the  ground  of  one  of  these 
dwellings,  we  found,  not  very  deeply  buried,  earthen  pots, 
vessels  and  jars,  two  Conopas  and  human  bones. 

Among  the  public  edifices  we  must  consider  the  hostelries 
and  royal  inns,  the  houses  of  public  sports,  the  baths,  palaces, 
monasteries,  temples  and  fortresses. 

The  tamboSj  or  royal  hostelries,  were  edifices  built  without 
the  slightest  architectural  art,  constructed  of  rough  stone  or 
adobes,  and  formed  a  square  or  rectangle,  surrounding  a 
plaza  sufficiently  large,  in  the  middle  of  which  there  was  a 
watch-tower  which  overlooked  the  edifice,  little  more  than  a 
fathom  high.  In  the  enclosure,  cut  by  two  entrances  opposite 
to  each  other,  are  found  very  large  compartments,  to  lodge 
the  soldiers,  and  small  apartments  for  the  Inca,  and  the 
nobles  or  lords  of  his  suite ;  the  doors  faced  the  square. 
These  apartments  for  the  soldiery  were  thirty  or  forty  feet 
wide,  and  in.  length  six  or  seven  hundred  or  more ;  so  that 
it  was  easy  to  lodge  in  them  four  or  five  thousand  soldiers. 
They  were  constructed  upon  the  royal  road,  distant  five  or 
six  leagues  one  from  the  other,  so  that  without  too  much 
fatigue  one  might  conveniently  reach  in  one  journey  one 
of  these  lodging-houses.  Some  authors  pretend  that  the 
number  of  these  tambos  amounted  to  nine  or  ten  thousand, 
which  is  a  great  exaggeration,  there  not  having  been,  in 
truth,  a  third  of  this  number. 

Similar  to  the  construction  of  the  tambos  was  that  of  the 
royal  warehouses,  and  instead  of  the  watch-tower  there  was 
a  small  fortress  in  the  centre  of  the  square  with  a  perma 
nent  garrison.  Situated  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  seat  of 


236  PERU. 

the  chief  Caracas,  they  were  intended  as  a  receptacle  for  the 
taxes  of  the  provinces,  the  arms  and  provisions  for  the  army. 
Coptra  was  the  particular  name  given  to  the  deposits  of 
clothing,  shoes  and  arms  ;  Pirhua-  Coptra  to  the  granaries, 
where  they  kept  the  corn  and  quinua  ;  and  Cumpi-  Coptra  to 
the  warehouses  of  fine  wools  and  precious  cloths,  embroi 
dered  in  the  monasteries  of  the  virgins  of  the  Sun. 

The  houses  for  play  were  joined  to  the  palaces  or  stood 
alone,  and  were  not  distinguished  for  their  architecture,  but 
for  their  extent.  They  were  edifices  of  four  walls  only  with 
a  roof,  intended  to  serve  as  a  square  wherein  to  celebrate  the 
feasts,  when  the  rainy  season  did  not  permit  them  to  take 
place  on  the  public  squares  without  shelter.  Garcilasso  de 
la  Yega  says  (Com.  Koyal,  Book  VI.  Chap.  IV.),  that  he 
succeeded  in  seeing  four  of  these  halls  in  Cuzco ;  the  largest 
was  in  Cassa?ia,  and  capable  of  containing  three  thousand 
persons,  another  in  Amarucancha ;  the  smallest  in  Collcam- 
pata,  and  another  was  in  the  place  where  now  stands  the 
Cathedral  Church.  lie  relates  that  one  of  these  Galpones 
was  two  hundred  paces  long  and  fifty  or  sixty  in  width.  As 
regards  its  interior  plan,  whether  it  had  galleries,  and  tri 
bunes  or  other  platforms,  we  know  not ;  neither  do  we  know 
whether  there  were  similar  edifices  in  other  cities. 

The  baths  or  Armanahuasi  attracted  attention  by  a  certain 
elegance  of  exterior,  and  by  a  rich  internal  apparatus.  The 
fountains  (Puquio)  were  carefully  covered  at  bottom  with  a 
hydraulic  mixture  of  small  stones  and  a  species  of  bitumen ; 
and  over  them  might  be  seen  arranged  the  figure  of  an 
animal,  a  lion,  tiger,  monkey,  bird  or  snake,  of  marble,  basalt, 
or  even  of  gold  or  silver,  which  threw  water  from  the  mouth, 
either  in  the  form  of  a  perpendicular  stream,  (Huraca)  or 
from  a  horizontal  conduit  (Paccha).  The  flowing  water  was 
conducted  through  a  pipe  of  metal  or  stone,  into  jars  of  gold, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  237 

silver,  or  sculptured  stone,  one  of  which  is  in  our  possession. 
The  small  sitting-rooms  which  are  seen  in  these  baths,  seem 
to  have  been  intended  as  dressing-rooms,  as  they  were  orna 
mented  with  statues  of  stone  and  metal.  The  most  cele 
brated  baths  were  the  hot  baths  in  Huamalies,  made  of  stone 
sculptured  with  the  greatest  exactitude,  and  internally 
adorned  with  great  luxury.  In  the  warmest  fountains 
(Conic  puquio)  with  which  the  Peruvian  mountains  abound, 
even  in  the  most  efficacious  ones,  we  do  not  find  any  traces 
of  their  having  been  made  use  of  in  the  time  of  the  Incas.* 
The  royal  palaces,  or  Inca-huasi,  whose  number  from 
Cuzco  to  Quito  amounted  to  more  than  two  hundred,  were 
found  not  only  in  the  capitals  of  provinces,  and  even  in 
cities  of  minor  importance,  but  also  in  pleasant  cities,  not 
on  the  royal  road,  and  were,  as  to  some,  very  sumptuous, 
constructed  of  marble  or  other  stones  highly  polished  ;  as  to 
others,  very  simple,  and  only  distinguished  from  the  royal 
inns  by  their  uses.  Of  the  most  magnificent  among  them 
we  have  accounts,  either  through  tradition,  or  from  their 
beautiful  ruins;  these  are  found  in  Tinta,  Lampa,  Tiahua- 
nacu,  in  the  neighboring  islands  of  Hatuncolla,  and  of  Capa- 
chica,  in  Paucarcolla,  in  Cuzco,  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Yucay,  in  Limatambo,  Huamanga,  old  Huanuco,  Chavin, 

*  We  will  hero  insert  the  temperature  of  some  of  the  hot  baths,  which 
were  known  to  the  Incas. 

Baths  of  Caxarnarca,  129.7°  Fahrenheit. 

Baths  of  Huamalies;  Banos  of  Chavin  of  Huanta,  112°  F.,  Air  52°  F. 

Baths  of  Huallanca,  123°  F.  and  150°  F. 

Yapor  baths  of  Aguamiro,  tube  of  14  yards,  124°  F.,  the  second  of 
14  yards,  118°  F.,  Air  70°  F. 

Those  of  Cono,  distant  half  a  league,  110°  F.,  Air  68°  F. 

Yauli,  in  four  examinations,  120a  F.,  114°  F.,  110°  F.,  92°  F..  Air  60°  F., 
(Sulphurous). 

Baths  of  Yura  of  Arequipa,  in  four  trials,  94°  F.,  90 3  F.,  89°  F.,  80° 
F.,  Air  68°  F.  (Sulphurous). 


238  PERU. 

Chachapoya,  etc.,  in  Chimu,  in  Truxillo,  and  in  the  kingdom 
of  Quito  in  Puncallacta,  Callo  in  the  province  of  Latacunya 
(Humboldt's  Views  of  the  Cordilleras,  pag.  197.  Ulloa, 
Relation  Hist,  of  Yoyage,  etc.,  Book  II.  Chap.  XT.),  in 
Hatuncaiiar  and  Tomebamba,  in  the  province  of  Canar 
(Ciega  de  Leon,  Chronicles,  Chap.  XLIY.)  and  others.  The 
majority  of  the  palaces  in  the  north  of  Peru  and  of  the 
ancient  kingdoms  of  Quito,  were  built  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth, 
by  order  of  the  Inca  Huaynacapac,  who  had  a  singular  pre 
dilection  for  architectural  works. 

Viewed  external ly,  the  palaces  and  temples  did  not  present 
as  imposing  an  aspect  as  the  Teocalis  of  Yucatan ;  since, 
although  they  occupied  a  very  considerable  space  of  ground, 
they  were  low,  of  two  or  two  and  a  half  stories  in  height, 
and  disfigured  by  rustic  roofs  of  straw.*  The  walls  were  at 
times  admirable  for  the  artificial  and  neat  union  of  the  hewn 
stones,  but  too  simple  withal,  wanting  columns,  cornices, 
relievos  and  other  architectural  ornaments.  The  entrance 
to  these  edifices  consisted  of  a  wide  aperture  in  the  wall, 
facing  the  east ;  or  in  a  portal  covered  on  the  top  with  beams 
placed  as  tiles,  or  with  flag-stones,  but  never  with  arches. 
A  general  error  among  most  historians,  as  well  the  ancient  as 
the  modern,  is  the  opinion  that  the  Peruvian  architects  had 
not  attained  to  the  construction  of  arches  and  vaults ;  for  in 
many  Huacas  of  stones  we  observe  vaults  very  superiorly 
constructed.  According  to  all  appearances,  they  used  the 
same  plan  in  making  them  that  the  Indian  masons  employed 

*  An  exception  to  this  rule  was  the  palace  Amaracancha,  built  by  order 
of  the  Inca  Huaynacapac.  Garcilasso  says  (Comment.  Royal,  II.  Chap. 
XXXII.)  that  he  saw  it.  There  was  a  most  beautiful  round  tower, 
which  was  in  full  view,  before  entering  the  house.  The  walls  were  four 
stories  in  height,  and  the  roof  was  so  high  that  it  equalled  in  that  particu 
lar  any  tower  which  he  saw  in  Spain,  that  of  Seville  excepted  !  ? 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  239 

at  the  present  day,  do  in  the  construction  of  small  vaults  in 
the  smelting  ovens ;  that  is,  by  filling  the  space  with  mate 
rials  forming  a  convexity,  and  arching  them  afterward  with 
lime  and  stone.  In  some  of  the  larger  edifices  you  meet  also 
with  vestiges  of  arches,  but  it  is  certain  that  their  application 
was  quite  limited.* 

The  internal  architecture  of  the  palaces  offers  more  com 
plication  of  detail  and  more  interest.  Some  large  saloons 
and  a  multitude  of  small  apartments  occupied  the  space  of 
the  building :  they  communicated  among  themselves  by  in 
termediate  doors,  but  the  majority  of  them  had  but  one  door 
opening  into  the  court  surrounding  the  edifice.  The  walls 
were  sometimes  carved,  presenting  architectural  ornaments 
very  well  executed,  and  a  number  of  large  niches,  and  small 
boards  in  the  form  of  shelves.  In  the  most  sumptuous 
palaces  the  walls  were  covered  with  small  plates  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  even  the  floors  of  some  of  the- principal  rooms 

*  Stephens,  in  his  travels  in  Yucatan  in  18i3,  says,  speaking  of  the 
arch  of  San  Francisco  of  Merida : 

'But  this  convent  contains  one  memorial  far  more  interesting  than  any 
connected  with  its  own  ruin,  one  that  carries  the  beholder  back  through 
centuries  of  time,  and  tells  the  story  of  a  greater  and  a  sadder  fall. 

':  In  one  of  the  lower  cloisters  going  out  from  the  north,  and  under  the 
principal  dormitory,  are  two  parallel  corridors.  The  outer  one  faces  the 
principal  patio,  and  this  corridor  has  that  peculiar  arch  so  often  referred 
to  in  my  previous  volumes,  two  sides  rising  to  meet  each  other,  and  covered, 
when  within  about  a  foot  of  forming  an  apex,  by  a  flat  layer  of  stones. 
There  can  be  no  mistake  about  the  character  of  this  arch;  it  cannot  for  a 
moment  be  supposed  that  the  Spaniards  constructed  any  thing  so  different 
from  their  known  rules  of  architecture  ;  and  beyond  doubt,  it  formed  part 
of  one  of  those  mysterious  buildings  which  have  given  rise  to  so  much 
speculation,  the  construction  of  which  has  been  ascribed  to  the  most 
ancient  people  in  the  old  world,  and  to  races  lost,  perished  and  un 
known." 

We  have  copied*  this  extract  as  confirmatory  proof  of  our  statement 
that  the  Indians  were  not  ignorant  of  the  mode  of  constructing  the  arch. 

[It  would  rather  seem  to  prove  the  reverse. — TRANSLATOR.] 


240  PERU. 

were  lined  with  these  metals,  which  was  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  their  destruction  ;  the  Spaniards  having  demolished 
them  to  possess  themselves  of  a  material  so  much  coveted. 
In  others,  you  see  the  floor  adorned  with  pavement  of 
marbles  of  different  colors  like  mosaic  work.  In  the  niches 
were  found  arranged  statues  of  gold  and  silver,  representing 
men  and  all  sorts  of  animals.  "  They  counterfeited  herbs 
and  plants  such  as  grow  on  walls,  and  placed  them  on  the 
walls  in  such  way  that  they  seemed  to  have  grown  there. 
They  imitated  on  the  walls  also  lizards  and  butterflies,  rats, 
large  and  small  snakes,  which  seemed  to  be  ascending  and 
descending  upon  them." — (Garcilasso  De  La  Vega,  Eoyal 
Com.  Book  VI.  Chap.  I) 

The  monasteries  of  the  virgins  of  the  sun,  or  Pasna-huasi, 
were  large  edifices,  similar  to  the  royal  inns,  and  sur 
rounded  by  high  walls.  Their  number,  throughout  the 
kingdom,  amounted  to  twenty  or  twenty -five,  and  some  con 
tained,  servants  included,  a  thousand  persons. 

The  temples,  their  most  sumptuous  edifices,  present  the 
best  specimens  of  Peruvian  architecture,  and  especially  those 
which  were  dedicated  to  the  supreme  Numen,  the  Sun.  These 
may  be  divided  into  three  classes :  those  of  the  first  order 
contained  seven  sections  communicating  internally.  The 
principal  part,  with  a  wide  door  toward  the  East,  occupying 
the  middle  of  the  edifice,  was  dedicated  to  the  Sun  or  Inti. 
and  was  the  richest  in  its  internal  decoration :  the  second 
section  was  dedicated  to  Mama-  Quilla,  or  the  moon :  the  third  to 
the  stars,  or  Coyllur  ;  the  fourth  to  Illapa,  or  the  thunderbolt: 
the  fifth  to  the  rainbow,  or  Ckuichi;  the  sixth  to  Huillac  Umu, 
or  high  priest,  and  to  the  assemblies  of  the  Inca  priests,  to 
deliberate  upon  the  sacrifice,  and  every  thing  concerning  the 
service  of  the  temple ;  and  finally,  the  seventh  was  a  large 
room  only  to  lodge  those  entrusted  with  the  worship  which 
they  performed  by  alternate  weekly  services.  Beside  these. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


241 


there  was  a  number  of  small  sitting-rooms,  for  the  priests 
and  persons  employed. 

The  temples  of  the  second  order  contained  only  two 
principal  parts  :  that  of  the  Sun,  and  that  of  the  moon ;  and 
in  those  of  the  third,  there  was  even  wanting  the  chapel 
dedicated  to  the  moon. 

In  order  to  form  an  idea  of  the  magnitude  and  beauty  of 
the  temples  of  the  first  order,  we  will  give  here  a  description 
of  the  temple  of  the  Sun  in  Cuzco,  availing  ourselves  of  the 
accounts  of  the  ancient  Chronicles,  contemporaneous  with 
the  conquest,  there  being  left  at  the  place  (where  at  the 
present  day  stands  the  convent  of  the  Dominican  friars) 
only  some  fragments,  as  sad  relics  of  one  of  the  most  beauti 
ful  architectural  works  of  the  new  world. 


VIEW    OF    PART    OP    THE    CONVENT    OF    ST.     DOMINGO    IN     CCZCO,   BUILT    ON    THE 
CYCLOPEAN  REMAINS   OF  THE  TEMPLE   OP  THE   SUN. 

This  temple,  called  Inti-huasi,  or  house  of  the  Sun,  occupied 


242  PERU. 

a  large  space  :  "  it  had,"  says  an  ancient  author,  "  a  circuit  of 
more  than  four  hundred  paces,  the  whole  surrounded  by  a 
strong  wall ;  the  whole  edifice  was  built  of  an  excellent 
species  of  fine  stone,  very  well  placed  and  adjusted,  and 
some  of  the  stones  were  very  large  and  lofty ;  they  used 
neither  earth  nor  lime,  only  the  bitumen  -with  which  they 
made  their  edifices,  and  the  stones  were  so  well  placed,  that 
no  joint  or  mortar  was  apparent." 

"  Throughout  Spain  I  have  seen  nothing  which  may  be 
compared  with  these  walls  and  the  laying  of  these  stones, 
but  the  tower  which  is  called  the  Callahorra,  which  is  con 
tiguous  to  the  bridge  of  Cordova ;  and  another  work  which 
I  saw  in  Toledo,  when  I  went  to  present  the  1st  part  of  my 
chronicle  to  the  prince  Don  Philip." — (Sarmiento,  Kelacion 
MS.  Chap.  XXIV.  in  Prescott's  Conquest  of  Peru,  Book  I. 
Chap.  III.) 

In  the  height  of  the  wall,  which  did  not  exceed  two  stories, 
there  Avas  on  the  exterior  a  species  of  fillet  or  cornice  of  gold, 
a  span  and  a  half  in  width,  embedded  in  the  stones. 

The  principal  part,  dedicated  to  the  Sun,  had  a  large  door 
in  the  eastern  wall.  The  ceiling  was  covered  with  cotton 
cloth,  neatly  woven,  embroidered  with  divers  colors,  which 
very  beautifully  concealed  the  internal  surface  of  the  roof 
of  straw.  A  band  of  gold,  similar  to  that  on  the  external 
side,  covered  the  junction  of  the  roof  with  the  walls.  All  the 
walls  were  hung  with  plates  of  gold,  and  tablets  of  the  same 
metal  served  as  doors.  In  the  lower  wall,  in  front  of  the 
portal,  was  placed  the  image  of  the  Sun  made  of  a  large  plate 
of  gold,  with  a  human  face  and  many  rays,  richly  chased, 
with  emeralds,  and  other  precious  stones.*  On  both  sides  of 

*  According  to  Father  Acosta  and  Father  Calancha,  this  golden  sun  fell 
to  the  lot  of  one  of  the  most  valiant  conquerors,  Captain  D.  Mancio  Sierra 
de  Liguizano,  who  staked  it  one  night  and  lost  it  before  sunrise ;  from 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  243 

the  image  were  found  corpses  embalmed,  of  the  different 
Incas,  each,  one  seated  upon  his  throne  of  gold. 

Communicating  with  this  principal  part  Hhere  was  a  large 
apartment  of  polished  stones,  adorned  at  the  top  only  with  a 
fillet  of  gold,  and  which  served  as  a  vestibule  to  five  chapels. 
The  largest  of  them  was  dedicated  to  the  moon,  whose  image 
of  silver,  represented  with  the  face  of  a  woman,  was  presented 
on  one  of  the  walls.  The  walls  and  door  were  covered  with 
plates  of  silver :  the  mummies  of  the  legitimate  wives  of  the 
Incas  were  placed  on  both  sides  of  the  moon,  as  those  of  the 
Incas,  their  lords,  were  on  both  sides  of  the  Sun.  The  second 
chapel  dedicated  to  the  stars,  like  that  dedicated  to  the  moon, 
had  a  door  of  gold;  and  on  the  ceiling  of  blue  cloth,  yellow 
needle-work  in  the  form  of  stars.  In  the  third  chapel  dedi 
cated  to  the  Yllapa,  [or  lightning]  the  walls  were  of  gold,  as 
in  the  room  dedicated  to  the  rainbow,  which  was  painted  in 
very  brilliant  colors  on  one  of  the  walls.  Adjoining  these 
chapels  was  a  chamber  with  the  walls  lined  with  gold,  in 
tended  as  a  species  of  sacristy,  to  Huillac-Umu,  and  as  a  con 
ference  hall  for  the  chief  priests. 

Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  speaking  as  an  eye-witness,  says 
(Com.  Royal,  I.  Book  III.  Chap.  XXII.) :  "  Of  these  five 
saloons  there  were  three  only  which  remained  in  their  ancient 
state  as  to  walls  and  roof.  They  wanted,  however,  the  plates 
of  gold  and  silver :  the  other  two,  which  were  the  cham 
bers  of  the  moon  and  the  stars,  were  level  with  the  ground. 
In  the  outside  of  the  walls  of  those  apartments  which  looked 
into  the  cloister  there  were  on  each  side  four  tabernacles  or 
niches,  finished  with  hewn  stone,  as  was  all  the  rest  of  the 
house  ;  there  were  mouldings  in  the  corners  and  throughout 
the  space  of  the  tabernacle  or  niche,  similar  to  the  mouldings 

•whence  originated  in  Peru  the  ordinary  proverb,  when  they  would  describe 
a  desperate  gambler  :  "  He  gambles  away  the  Sun  before  he  rises." 


244  PERU. 

made  in  the  wall,  so  that  they  were  lined  with  plates  of  gold, 
not  only  the  walls  and  upper  part,  but  also  the  floors  of  the 
niches.  The  corners  of  the  mouldings  were  very  richly  in 
laid  with  fine  stones,  emeralds  and  turquoises,  as  in  that 
country  diamonds  and  rubies  were  not  found.  The  Inca 
seated  himself  in  these  tabernacles  on  great  festival  days, 
sometimes  in  one  apartment,  sometimes  in' another,  conform 
ably  to  the  season  of  the  feast." 

All  the  implements  connected  with  the  service  of  the  Sun 
were  of  gold  and  silver,  as  I  have  previously  mentioned. 
The  dwellings  of  the  priests,  and  even  those  of  the  servants, 
were  richly  ornamented  with  precious  stones.  Who  can 
wonder  that  the  Peruvians  themselves  called  the  place  of 
this  immense  edifice,  in  which  nearly  five  thousand  persons 
employed  found  accommodation,  Coricancha,  or  "  the  place  of 
gold?" 

In  the  provinces  there  were  many  temples,  similar  in  their 
construction  to  that  of  Cuzco,  but  none  which  surpassed  or 
even  equalled  it  in  richness.  Yery  sumptuous  were  those  of 
Huilka,  of  Tumpez,  of  Tomepampa,  of  Hatun-Canar,  and  of 
Quito,  and  several  others ;  but  we  have  not  the  information 
which  would  enable  us  to  make  a  comparison  between  them. 
Of  the  other  sanctuaries  not  dedicated  to  the  tutelar  Divi- 
nit}r,  with  the  exception  of  those  which  we  shall  speak  of 
in  the  following  chapter,  the  one  which  for  its  architectural 
construction  most  deserves  our  attention,  is  that  which  the 
Inca  ViracocJia  caused  to  be  constructed,  and  which  Garci- 
lasso  de  la  Yega  (1.  c.  Book  Y.  Chap.  XXII.)  describes  in 
the  following  manner:  "  The  Inca  Yiracocha  ordered  to  be 
built  in  a  town  called  Cacha,  which  is  sixteen  leagues  south 
of  the  city  of  Cuzco,  a  temple  in  honor  of  his  uncle,  whose 
phantom  or  spirit  had  appeared  to  him.  He  commanded 
that  the  workmanship  of  the  temple  should  imitate  as  far  as 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  245 

it  was  possible  the  place  where  the  spirit  had  appeared  to  him  ; 
that  it  should  be  (like  the  field)  uncovered,  without  roof, 
that  they  should  make  a  small  chapel  covered  with  stone, 
which  should  resemble  the  hollow  of  the  rock  against  which 
he  had  leaned,  that  it  should  be  one  story  above  the  ground, 
that  the  tracery  and  the  work  should  be  different  from  any 
thing  which  the  Indians  had  ever  made  before,  or  would 
make  afterward;  because  they  never  made  a  house  or  cham 
ber  with  an  arched  roof.  The  temple  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  length,  and  eighty  in  width  ;  it  was  of  polished 
stone,  beautifully  cut,  as  is  all  the  stone  with  which  the  Indians 
work.  It  had  four  doors  opening  upon  the  four  different 
quarters  of  the  heavens ;  three  of  them  were  closed,  being 
rather  imitation  portals  to  serve  as  an  ornament  to  the  walls, 
The  door  which  faced  the  east  served  for  ingress  and  egress; 
it  was  in  the  centre  of  the  vault,  and  as  the  Indians  did  not 
know  how  to  make  an  arched  vault ;  in  order  to  cover  it  they 
made  inner  walls  of  the  same  stone,  which  served  as  beams, 
and  were  better,  because  they  lasted  longer  than  they  would 
have  done,  made  of  timber ;  they  placed  them  in  rows,  leav 
ing  seven  feet  of  space  between  wall  and  wall,  and  the  walls 
were  three  feet  thick :  thus  the  walls  made  twelve  aisles. 
They  closed  them  above  with  flag-stones  ten  feet  in  length  and 
lialf  a  yard  in  height.  Entering  by  the  door  of  the  temple, 
one  turned  to  the  right  hand  through  the  first  aisle,  until  he 
reached  the  wall  on  the  right  side  of  the  temple;  he  then  passed 
to  the  left  side,  through  the  second  aisle,  until  he  reached  the 
other  wall.  From  thence  he  passed  again  to  the  right  side, 
through  the  third  aisle,  and  thus  (as  the  spaces  go  between  the 
lines  upon  this  page)  the  tour  of  the  temple  was  made  through 
every  aisle,  until  the  twelfth  or  the  last  was  reached ;  where 
was  a  staircase,  to  mount  to  the  top  of  the  temple." 

"  In  front  of  each  aisle,  on  both  sides,  were  windows  like 


246  PEEU.    . 

loop-holes,  which  gave  sufficient  light ;  under  each  window 
was  a  niche  made  in  the  wall,  where  was  seated  a  porter, 
without  obstructing  the  passage  through  the  aisles.  The 
staircase  was  made  with  two  passages,  one  to  ascend  and  one 
to  descend ;  these  were  on  different  sides ;  the  one  for  ascent 
came  out  in  front  of  the  high  altar."  Of  this  altar,  and  of 
the  statue  of  the  Deity,  we  have  already  spoken  in  the 
eighth  chapter. 

Cie§a  de  Leon,  in  his  Chronicle,  mentions  some  interesting 
temples,  dedicated  to  other  Deities,  as  that  one  of  the  island 
Lampuna,  consecrated  to  the  terrible  Tumpal,  God  of  war, 
made  of  black  stone,  with  its  walls  covered  with  sculptures 
and  horrible  pictures ;  the  interior  entirely  obscure,  with  a 
large  altar  in  the  centre,  upon  which  the  priest  offered 
human  sacrifices.  Another  temple  in  the  province  of  Mania 
was  dedicated  to  the  god  of  health,  Umina,  and  was  distin 
guished  by  its  architecture  and  richness. 

The  system  of  fortifications  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  is 
admirable,  and  attests  a  high  degree  of  intelligence.  Through 
out  the  empire,  from  the  north  of  Quito,  were  innumerable 
fortresses  or  Pucaras,  so  advantageously  placed  that  the 
choice  of  the  sites  where  they  were  built  would  do  honor  to 
the  more  skilful  modern  engineers,  (those  of  Pativilca, 
Huaraz,  Conchucos,  for  example.)  The  construction  was,  if 
we  consider  the  arms  used  in  those  days,  very  strong ;  some 
times  simple,  sometimes  displaying  much  art,  and  always 
with  an  ingenious  appropriation  of  the  advantages  offered 
by  the  ground ;  some  were  fortified  with  bastions,  and  were 
surrounded  with  ditches,  while  the  walls  were  finished  with 
parapets.  The  largest  of  all  the  fortresses  was  that  of  the 
capital  of  the  empire,  and  may  justly  be  called  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  architectural  works,  attesting  the  physical  strength 
of  man. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  247 

Tradition  relates  that  its  construction  began  at  the  end  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth, 
of  our  era,  under  the  reign  of  the  Inca  Pachacutec,  or  of  his  son 
Yupanqui;  and  the  names  even  of  the  architects  are  preserved, 
(Apu-Sualtpa-Rimachij  Inca-Maricanchi,  Acahuana-Inca  and 
Callacunchuy^)  who  successively  directed  or  superintended 
the  work.  It  was  built  on  a  rough  ridge,  called  Sacsahua- 
man,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  capital ;  the  declivity  of  the 
ridge  was  on  one  side  very  steep,  defended  only  by  a  small 
wall  sufficiently  high,  and  more  than  a  thousand  feet  in 
length ;  but  it  was  toward  the  north  that  the  declivity  gently 
lost  itself  in  the  plain,  and  as  it  was  the  point  most  easily 
attacked,  it  was  protected  by  three  walls,  one  behind  the 
other,  and  with  projecting  angles  of  more  than  twenty  yards  ; 
these  walls  were  semicircular  and  connected  with  the  wall 
at  the  south,  and  were  as  long  as  that  was,  constructed  in  a 
Cyclopean  manner,  that  is,  of  immense  polyangular  stones, 
which  were  perfectly  fitted  the  one  to  the  other,  without  any 
perceptible  mortar.  These  huge  masses  were  rough,  except 
only  at  the  joints;  the  edges  for  about  the  width  of  a  hand  were 
finely  cut,  so  that  the  polished  lines  of  the  joints  in  the 
centre  of  the  mass  produced  a  very  beautiful  effect.  Most 
wonderful  is  the  extraordinary  size  of  the  stones  which  com 
pose  these  walls,  principally  the  external  ones,  as  there  were 
some  among  them  which  were  fifty  feet  in  length,  twenty- 
two  in  height,  and  six  in  width.  Each  wall  was  at  a  dis 
tance  of  thirty  feet  from  the  next  one,  and  the  intermediate 
space  was  terraced  to  the  top  of  the  enclosure ;  almost  in  the 
centre  of  each  was  a  door,  with  a  movable  flag-stone  to 
fasten  it.  The  first  enclosure  was  called  Tiupuncu,  (the  door 
of  the  sandy  ground) ;  that  of  the  second,  Acaliiiana-puncu 
(the  door  of  the  architect  Acahuana) ;  and  that  of  the  third, 
Viracoclia-puncu  (the  door  of  the  Inca  Yiracocha).  A  parapet 


248  PERU. 

half  the  height  of  a  man's  body,  garnished  each  wall.  In 
an  oblong  plaza  enclosed  by  these  walls,  were  three  strong 
places  in  the  form  of  small  forts,  the  largest  of  which,  in  the 
centre,  called  Moyoc  Marca  (circular  tower),  was  cylindrical, 
and  the  two  on  the  extremities  of  the  square,  Paucar-Marca  and 
Sacllac  Marca,  were  squares.  The  Moyoc  Marca  was  designed 
to  receive  the  family  of  the  Inca,  and  the  wealth  of  the 
royal  palaces,  and  of  the  temple  of  the  Sun,  in  times  of  war, 
and  to  serve  as  a  place  of  rest  in  certain  festivals,  during 
peace.  Its  internal  fittings  corresponded  with  that  of  the 
palaces,  all  of  gold  and  silver.  The  two  square  fortifications 
were  of  similar  construction,  with  many  apartments  in  them, 
large  and  small,  to  lodge  the  garrison.  These  forts  commu 
nicated  subterraneously  with  each  other,  as  also  with  the 
royal  palaces,  and  with  the  temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  city. 

These  subterranean  works  were,  according  to  tradition, 
very  ingenious ;  they  were  commonly  four  feet  wide,  and  a 
fathom  high,  but  in  certain  places  they  were  contracted,  and 
there  were  in  the  walls  sharp-pointed  stones,  so  that  a  man 
could  only  pass  through  the  centre  of  them ;  or  else  their 
height  diminished  so  much  that  only  on  all-fours  was  the 
transit  possible.  All  this  was  with  a  view  of  saving  the 
wealth  of  the  city  in  the  fortress,  and  to  prevent  the  pursuit 
of  an  enemy,  for  behind  each  narrow  pass  was  a  space  just 
wide  enough  to  defend  the  passage  against  an  entire  army. 
History  records  the  valor  and  constancy  with  which  it  was 
defended  in  the  time  of  Hernan  Pizarro,  and  the  presence 
of  mind  of  a  certain  captain,  who,  with  his  formidable  mace 
in  hand,  strode  along  the  battlements,  threatened  with  death 
every  Indian  who  did  not  remain  at  his  post,  and  then  when 
all  was  lost,  like  another  Numantin,  threw  himself  headlong 
into  the  abyss,  preferring  to  perish,  rather  than  be  a  captive 
to  the  proud  conqueror. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  249 

It  is  related  that  the  Apostle  Saint  James  appeared  during 
the  siege,  deciding  the  battle  ;  and  from  that  time  the  natives 
held  this  saint  in  great  veneration,  celebrating  his  feasts 
throughout  the  interior  of  Peru. 

At  the  present  day  there  are  on  the  ridge  of  Sacsahuaman 
three  crosses  of  wood,  and  at  a  few  steps  distance  is  seen  a 
staircase  which  descends  to  the  city.  A  short  distance  from 
the  fortress  is  a  large  piece  of  amphibolic  rock  known  bjr 
the  name  of  the  smooth  rolling  stone,  which  served  and  still 
serves  for  diversion  to  the  inhabitants,  by  rolling  like  a  gar 
den  roller,  having  a  sort  of  hollow  formed  in  the  middle 
through  friction.* 

Each  fortress  had  its  distinguishing  mark :  the  most  cele 
brated  were  those  of  Calcahilares,  of  Iluillcaliuaman,  of  old 
Huanuco,  of  Chemie  in  Mansiche,  of  Hatun-Canar,  of  Coranqui, 
and  others.  The  small  fortress  of  Huichay,  two  leagues  from 
Tarma,  which  defends 'the  entrance  to  this  valley,  was  of 
very  peculiar  construction.  Its  entrance  through  an  opening, 
in  which  the  wall  was  made  of  small  stones,  conducted  to  a 
gallery  which  led  to  the  fortress.  At  the  foot  of  the  decli 
vity  was  a  deep  ditch,  and  behind  this  a  bulwark,  fourteen 
feet  high,  flanked  by  three  turrets.  A  wide  cellar  or  sub 
terraneous  passage,  natural  in  some  parts,  conducted  from 
this  fortress,  through  the  centre  of  the  ridge  to  Tarmatambo, 
where  was  to  be  seen  a  large  palace,  the  ruins  of  which  still 
attract  the  attention  of  the  traveller.  In  the  cellar  was  found 
•an  abundance  of  provisions,  as  in  times  of  war  it  served  as  a 
granary,  and  also  as  dwellings  to  the  neighboring  population. 

In  the  environs  of  the  fort,  they  procure  at  the  present 
day  saltpetre  for  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder ;  and  con 
sequently  excavations  have  so  far  destroyed  it,  that  in  a  few 

*  In  other  places  they  have  also  these  rolling  stones,  made  of  smooth 
and  very  fine  sand-stones. 
11* 


250  PERU. 

years  the  site  of  so  interesting  a  monument  will  be  un 
known. 

"In  the  valley  of  Yucay,  four  leagues  from  Cuzco,  the 
Incas  had  large  edifices  and  a  fortress  between  unassailable 
rocks ;  while  around  the  ridge  were  terraces,  where  they 
planted  corn  abundantly :  they  had  also  in  the  walls  of  the 
edifices  sculptured  figures  of  leopards  and  other  animals  sup 
porting  the  trophies  of  their  conquests.  In  the  mortar  of  the 
well-fitted  stones  is  found  liquid  gold,  and  it  is  supposed  that 
this  was  used  in  memory  of  the  deeds  of  some  prince,  as  was 
customary  in  the  time  of  the  Eomans." 

The  hydraulic  system  among  the  ancient  Peruvians  deserves 
our  attention  as  much  as  its  architecture.  They  made  open 
canals,  called  Rarccac,  and  subterranean  aqueducts,  Pinchas 
or  Huircas  of  wonderful  extent,  overcoming,  with  great  skill, 
all  the  obstacles  which  nature  opposed,  with  a  view  of  fer 
tilizing  their  arid  fields.  In  many  territories,  and  principally 
in  those  where  the  uneven  ground  of  the  Sierra  extends  into 
the  Puna,  (for  example,  the  heights  beyond  Tarmatambo  on 
the  road  from  Tarma  to  Jauja,  and  in  the  same  region  of 
Jauja)  are  found  a  large  number  of  square  fields,  almost  all 
of  the  same  width,  and  each  one  surrounded  with  a  small 
wall  of  stones.  They  are  now  covered  with  Puna  grass,  and 
are  useless  for  cultivation.  These  were  the  Topus,  which 
were  allotted  to  the  subjects  of  the  immense  kingdom  for  the 
support  of  their  families.  They  were  in  that  day  watered  by 
aqueducts  of  admirable  construction,  and  eminently  useful 
for  agricultural  purposes.  But  the  Spaniards  destroyed  these 
channels,  and  the  artificial  passages  of  water  having  thus 
been  dried  up,  the  earth  has  become  altogether  sterile.  As 
most  of  these  narrow  passages  were  subterranean,  it  is  not 
possible  to  discover  them,  but  it  is  known  that  many  of  them 
contained  pipes  of  gold  which  the  conquerors  considered 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  251 

profitable  booty.  The  largest  space  of  these  azequias  or  canals 
which  has  been  preserved  entire  is  found  in  the  valley  of  Nasca, 
which  owes  its  rare  fertility  in  the  cultivation  of  the  vine 
solely  to  the  water  which  was  brought  by  the  Pinclias  of  the 
ancients  ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Cajamarca  is,  even  now,  seen 
one  of  these  channels  excavated  in  the  mountains,  which 
gives  outlet  to  the  waters  of  a  lake  ;  and  another  in  the  plain 
which  leads  to  the  ridge  of  Pasco,  having  its  origin  in  the 
river  which  is  near  Hullay.  The  subterranean  aqueducts 
are  found  paved  with  flag-stones  closely  joined,  from  four  to 
six  feet  long,  and  about  three  feet  wide;  their  interior  altitude 
from  the  floor  to  the  roof  was  from  six  to  eight  feet. 

Garcilasso  de  la  Yega  (Royal.  Com.  I.  Book  V.  Chap. 
XXIV.)  speaks  of  two  azequias  :  one  made  by  the  Inca  Vira- 
cocha,  which,  beginning  in  the  heights  of  the  Sierra  between 
Parco  and  Picuy,  runs  as  far  as  the  Rucanas,  more  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  leagues:  another  traverses  almost  the 
whole  of  Contisuyu,  and  runs  from  the  south  to  the  north 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  along  the  top  of 
the  steepest  Sierras,  and  extends  to  the  Quechuas. 

This  author  adds :  "We  may  compare  these  canals  to  the 
greatest  works  which  the  world  has  seen,  and  give  them  the 
first  place,  considering  the  lofty  Sierras  over  which  they  are 
carried,  the  large  stones  which  they  broke  without  instru 
ments  of  steel  or  iron,  and  which  were  broke 'with  other 
stones  by  mere  force  of  arms ;  we  must  remember  too  that 
they  knew  not  how  to  make  scaffoldings  with  which  to  build 
the  arches  of  bridges  and  span  the  chasms  and  small  rivers. 
If  they  had  to  cross  any  deep  river  they  headed  its  sources, 
thus  encircling  all  the  Sierras  which  presented  themselves 
before  them." 

The  bridges  which  the  ancient  Peruvians  constructed  over 
small  streams  and  mighty  rivers  were  very  simple,  and  with- 


252  PERU. 

out  architectural  art,  but  even  better  adapted  to  the  violent 
torrents  which  would  not  permit  them  to  build  permanent 
foundations  or  piers  for  arches,  and  which  would  have  de 
stroyed  their  most  solid  ones,  even  had  they  possessed  the  art 
to  fix  them  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  In  the  narrowest  part 
of  the  rivers,  they  constructed  on  each  bank  a  buttress  of 
middling-sized  stones,  joined  by  a  mortar  of  bitumen  and 
gypsum,  and  fastened  to  them  five  or  six  very  strong  beams, 
to  which  they  attached  three  strong  ropes,  placing  over  them, 
cross- wise,  poles,  and  covering  them  with  branches,  small 
stones  and  sand,  so  as  to  form  a  solid  floor  :  on  both  sides  they 
passed  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  bridge  a  rope,  which 
served  to  lay  hold  of.  They  sometimes  made  use  of  stones 
for  buttresses  planted  by  nature,  as  is  seen  in  the  celebrated 
bridge  of  Apurimac. 

Those  which  existed  even  at  the  time  of  the  Incas,  are  that 
of  the  lake  of  Lauricocha,  in  the  district  of  Junin,  and  that 
of  Compuerta,  in  the  department  of  Puno.  Both  are  com 
posed  of  a  micaceous  and  calcareous  rock,  with  broad  stones 
of  two  and  three  yards,  leaving  a  path  about  £  of  a  yard  in 
width,  and  from  li  to  2  yards  in  height.  The  buttresses 
are  large,  broad,  and  without  the  slightest  mortar.* 

This  class  of  bridges,  as  also  those  which  consist  of  a  single 
rope  to  w^ich  the  traveller  fastens  himself  and  his  load,  in  a 
hand-basket  which  hangs  from  a  staple,  and  which  is  drawn 
with  ropes  from  on  side  to  the  other,  are  yet  in  use,  which 
proves  their  fitness. 

We  cannot  do  less,  before  concluding  this  chapter,  than 
make  a  passing  observation  upon  the  opinion  of  a  distin 
guished  historian,  concerning  the  works  of  art  among  the 
ancient  Peruvians.  The  celebrated  French  philosopher 

*  The  celebrated  bridge  of  pure  sand  between  Arequipa  and  Vitor,  we 
are  also  assured,  was  constructed  in  the  time  of  the  Incas. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  253 

Raynal  says,  in  his  well-known  work  :*"  "  It  is  proper  to 
class  among  fables  this  prodigious  number  of  cities  constructed 
with  so  »rnuch  care  and  so  much  expense ;  those  majestic 
palaces  designed  to  accommodate  the  Incas,  in  their  places  of 
residence  and  in  their  travels ;  those  fortresses  which  are 
found  scattered  throughout  the  empire  ;  those  aqueducts  and 
arcades,  comparable  only  to  the  magnificence  left  us  by  anti 
quity  ;  those  lofty  roads  which  made  communication  so  easy  ; 
those  bridges  so  massive,  those  wonderful  attributes  of  the 
Quipus  which  supplied  the  art  of  writing,  unknown  among  the 
Peruvians." 

This  arbitrary  opinion,  sustained  with  the  vaguest  reasons, 
cannot  be  characterized  in  any  other  terms  than  by  calling 
it  an  emanation  of  the  skepticism  of  a  publicist  who  sacrificed 
all  historical  truth  to  the  prejudices  and  spirit  of  party.  The 
famous  historian  Robertson,  without  doubt  influenced  by  his 
French  predecessor,  professed  the  same  opinion,  though  he 
propounded  it  with  less  arrogance. 

Fortunately,  the  ruins  of  the  monuments  whose  marvellous 
records  da^lle  the  prosaic  imaginations  of  the  authors  above 
quoted,  will  prove  to  remote  centuries  the  veracity  of  the 
ancient  historians,  and  will  demonstrate  the  empty  conceit 
of  certain  self-styled  philosophers,  who  bring  historical  truth 
down  to  the  level  of  their  speculative  ignorance. 

*  Philosophical  and  Political  History  of  the  Settlements  and  of  the  Com 
merce  of  the  Europeans  in  the  Two  Indies,  by  William  Thomas  Raynal, 
1783.  Book  17,  pp.  310,  315. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

.  N  C  I  E  N  T     MONUMENTS. 

OF  all  the  ancient  monuments  whose  ruins  invite  our  atten 
tion,  there  are  none  which,  by  their  astonishing  character, 
their  immense  extent,  and  the  seemingly  impossible  labor 
which  their  construction  demanded,  impress  us  more  pro 
foundly  than  the  royal  roads  which  traversed  the  entire  em 
pire  from  South  to  North  :  the  one,*  over  the  heights  of  the 
Cordilleras,  admirably  surmounting  the  difficulties  interposed 
by  nature  ;  the  other  descending  from  Cuzco  to  the  coast,  and 
following  a  route  to  the  North.  Travelling  over  some  hun 
dreds  of  leagues  of  these  gigantic  roads  (abandoned  at  this 
day),  and  remembering  the  accounts  of  the  author  who  saw 
them  in  their  perfect  state  immediately  after  the  conquest, 
we  could  do  no  less  than  admire  the  vast  plan  of  their  originator, 
the  constancy  and  power  of  the  Incas  in  carrying  them  on 
to  completion,  and  the  patience  of  the  people  in  supporting 
those  fatigues  and  privations  in  their  construction  to  which 
they  were  undoubtedly  subjected.  Tp  build  these  roads  in 
deserts,  over  shifting  sands,  reflecting  constantly  the  rays  of 
a  burning  sun ;  to  break  in  pieces  rocks,  to  level  obstacles 
without  iron,  tools,  and  without  gunpowder;  without  com 
pass,  to  hold  on  a  line  over  a  lofty  mountain  region,  covered 
with  eternal  frost ;  to  fill  up  profound  chasms  bordered  by 
frightful  precipices ;  to  make  a  road  over  rivers,  lakes,  and 
morasses  ; — all  this  would  be  an  enterprise  which,  even  in  the 

existing  state  of  our  knowledge  and  with  modern  instru 
ct 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  255 

ments  of  labor,  would  be  deemed  worthy  of  the  most  civilized 
nation  now  on  the  globe. 

To  give  an  exact  idea  of  these  roads,  we  will  avail  our 
selves  of  the  descriptions  of  impartial  authors. 

Juan  de  Sarmiento,  president  of  the  royal  council  of  the 
Indies,  speaking  of  the  road  over  the  Cordilleras,  says,  in  his 
"Relation  of  the  Succession  and  Government  of  the  Incas," 
preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  library  of  the  Escurial: 
"  One  of  the  things  most  wonderful,  in  contemplating  the 
works  of  this  country,  was  the  thought  how,  and  in  what 
manner,  they  were  able  to  make  such  long  and  superior 
roads  as  those  we  see  ;  what  a  large  force  of  men  must  have 
been  required  for  their  construction,  and  with  what  iron  tools 
or  other  instruments  they  were  able  to  level  mountains,  and 
break  in  pieces  rocks,  and  to  make  the  roads  so  broad  and 
good  as  they  are.  For  it  seems  to  me  if  the  Emperor  should 
see  fit  to  order  the  construction  of  another  road,  like  that 
which  leads  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  or  that  which  from  Cuzco 
goes  toward  Chili,  I  certainly  think  that,  with  all  his  power, 
he  would  not  be  able  to  make  it ;  nor  indeed  would  the 
strength  of  men  accomplish  it,  without  such  complete  order 
and  arbitrary  subdivision  of  labor,  as  the  Incas  established 
among  their  subjects  who  built  their  roads  ;  for  if  it  were  a 
road  of  but  fifty,  or  a  hundred,  or  two  hundred  leagues,  it  is 
easy  to  perceive,  that  although  the  earth  might  be  rough, 
still,  with  great  diligence,  it  might  be  accomplished.  But 
these  roads  were  so  extensive  that  one  stretched  even  eleven 
hundred  leagues,  all  made,  too,  over  large  and  terrific  sierras, 
the  bases  of  which  in  some  places,  if  one  looked  down,  were 
beyond  the  reach  of  sight ;  while  in  others,  the  sierras  were 
perpendicular  masses  of  stone,  the  sides  of  which  it  was 
necessary  to  excavate  to  make  the  road  broad  and  straight ; 
while  the  only  implements  for  their  construction  were  fire 


256  PERU. 

and  a  tool  of  some  kind  for  picking.  Other  places  were  so 
abrupt,  high  and  rugged,  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  steps 
from  below  to  reach  the  summit,  midway  of  which  were  cut 
broad  platforms  as  resting-places  for  the  laborers  in  the 
ascent.  In  other  places  there  were  frightful  heaps  of  snow, 
and  these  of  frequent  occurrence,  not  situated  as  they  wished, 
not  elevated  or  depressed  as  we  see  it  on  the  plains  ;  and  upon 
this  snow,  if  it  were  necessary  to  fill  up  cavities,  they  were 
obliged  to  construct  actual  mountains  of  trees  and  turf,  and 
over  them  to  make  a  smooth  paved  road.  Those  who  read 
this  book,  and  who  have  been  in  Peru,  may  recall  the  road  which 
goes  from  Lima  to  Xauxa,  by  the  sierras  of  Guayacoin,  and 
by  the  snowy  mountains  of  Pavacaca,  and  they  know  that 
they  have  both  seen  and  heard  more  than  I  have  here 
written." 

Pedro  Cieqa  de  Leon  thus  writes  concerning  the  road  over 
the  sierra  (Chronicles,  Chapter  XXXVII.) :  "From  Ipiales 
there  is  a  road  leading  to  a  small  province  named  Guaca, 
and  before  reaching  it  may  be  seen  the  road  of  the  Incas,  as 
famous  in  these  parts  as  that  which  Hannibal  made  over 
the  Alps,  when  he  descended  upon  Italy.  And  it  may  be, 
it  is  held  in  the  more  estimation  as  well  for  the  grand  lodg 
ing-places  and  depositories  which  are  found  along  its  whole 
length,  as  for  the  great  difficulty  of  its  construction  over 
such  rough  and  stony  sierras  as  one  cannot  contemplate  but 
with  wonder."  Of  the  road  along  the  coast  this  author 
speaks  more  particularly  in  his  seventieth  chapter.  "And 
here  I  will  notice  the  great  road  (says  he)  which  the  Incas 
commanded  to  be  made  in  the  midst  of  the  plains;  which, 
although  now  in  many  places  broken  up  and  destroyed,  yet 
furnishes  evidence  of  how  great  a  work  it  was,  and  of  the 
power  of  those  who  caused  it  to  be  built.  Guaynacapa,  and 
Topaynga  Yupanque  his  father,  were  those  who,  according 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  257 

to  the  statements  of  the  Indians,  traversed  the  whole  coast, 
visiting  the  valleys  and  provinces  of  the  Yungas  ;  although 
there  are  some  Indians  who  say  that  the  Inca  Yupanque,  the 
grandfather  of  Guaynacapa,  and  father  of  Topaynga,  was  the 
first  who  descended  to  the  coast ;  the  Caciques  and  princes 
by  his  command  caused  a  road  to  be  made  fifteen  feet  broad, 
on  each  side  of  which  was  a  very  strong  wall  more  than  a 
fathom  in  thickness,  while  the  road  was  perfectly  clear  and 
smooth,  and  shaded  by  trees ;  and  from  these  generally  hung 
over  the  road  branches  loaded  with  fruit,  while  the  trees 
were  filled  with  parrots  and  various  other  birds.  In  each 
one  of  the  valleys  there  were  built  grand  and  princely  lodg 
ing-places  for  the  Incas,  and  depositories  for  supplies  of  the 
army ;  for  they  were  so  timid  that  they  did  not  dare  go  on 
an  expedition  without  large  supplies ;  and  if  any  wrong  were 
committed,  those  in  default  were  severely  punished ;  so  that, 
for  instance,  if  any  of  those  who  traversed  the  road  dared 
to  trespass  on  the  fields,  or  intrude  into  the  houses  of  the 
Indians,  even  though  the  damage  committed  might  be  but 
trifling,  they  were  punished  with  death.  Along  this  road 
the  side  walls  extended  from  one  place  to  another,  except  in 
those  spots  where,  from  the  quantity  of  sand,  the  Indians 
were  not  able  to  lay  it  solidly  in  cement ;  and  at  such  places, 
that  the  way  might  not  be  lost,  they  drove  in  the  ground 
large  trees  properly  fitted,  after  the  manner  of  beams,  at 
regular  intervals  ;  and  thus  they  took  care  to  make  the  road 
smooth  and  clear  over  the  valleys ;  they  renewed  the  walls 
wherever  they  became  ruinous  or  injured,  and  perpetual 
watch  was  kept  to  see  if  any  large  tree,  of  those  in  the 
sandy  places,  was  overturned  by  the  wind,  in  which  case 
it  was  immediately  replaced.  Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  this  road 
was  certainly  a  great  work,  although  not  so  laborious  as  that 
of  the  Sierra." 


258  PERU. 

Don  Augustin  de  Zarrate  thus  speaks  of  the  two  roads  (Des- 
cubrimiento  y  Conquista,  Lib.  I.  Cap.  XIII.)  :  u  When 
Guaynacava  went  from  the  city  of  Cuzco  with  his  army  to 
conquer  the  province  of  Quito,  which  was  about  five  hundred 
leagues  distant,  as  he  went  over  the  Sierra  he  found  great  diffi 
culty  in  the  passage,  by  reason  of  the  bad  roads  and  immense 
chasms  and  precipices  he  encountered.  And  so  it  seemed 
right  to  the  Indians  to  make  a  new  road  by  which  he  might 
return  victorious  from  his  conquest,  (for  he  had  subdued  the 
province)  and  according!}7,  they  built  a  road  along  the  whole 
Cordillera,  very  broad  and  smooth,  breaking  and  levelling 
rocks  when  necessary,  and  filling  up  to  the  level,  with 
masonry,  the  chasms  sometimes  from  a  depth  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  fathoms,  until  they  thus  perfected  the  road  for  the 
space  of  five  hundred  leagues. 

"  And  they  say  it  was  so  level  when  finished,  that  a  car 
riage  might  have  gone  over  it ;  although  afterward,  in  the 
wars  between  the  Christians  and  the  Indians,  in  many  places 
the  masonry  over  the  chasms  was  broken  up  to  prevent  a 
passage  of  the  enemy.  And  the  difficulty  of  this  geat  work 
will  be  seen  by  any  one  who  considers  the  labor  and  cost 
which  have  been  expended  in  Spain  in  levelling  only  two 
leagues  of  the  Sierra  between  the  ridge  of  Segovia  and  Gua- 
darrama ;  and  that  it  has  never  been  so  perfectly  done  as  to 
make  even  an  ordinary  way,  notwithstanding  the  Kings  of 
Castile  pass  over  it  continually  with  their  households  and 
court,  every  time  that  they  go  from  Andalusia  or  Toledo  to 
this  part  of  the  kingdom. 

"And  not  content  with  making  this  remarkable  work, 
when,  at  another  time,  the  same  Guaynacava  wished  to  re 
turn  from  the  province  of  Quito,  which  he  much  prized  be 
cause  he  had  conquered  it,  he  returned  through  the  low 
country  or  plains,  and  the  Indians  then  made  over  them 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  259 

another  road  of  as  much  difficulty  as  that  on  the  Sierra ;  for 
in  all  the  valleys  refreshed  by  streams  and  forests,  (which, 
as  we  have  before  said,  commonly  covered  a  league)  they 
made  a  road  almost  forty  feet  wide,  with  very  large  adobo 
walls  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  the  walls  were  four  or 
five  adobes  in  height ;  and  when  they  left  the  valleys  they 
continued  the  same  road  over  the  sands,  driving  down  trees 
and  stakes  on  the  line,  so  that  no  one  could  lose  the  road, 
nor  be  turned  from  it  through  its  whole  length,  which,  like 
that  of  the  Sierra,  was  five  hundred  leagues.  And  although 
these  trees  in  the  sandy  parts  are  now  broken  in  many  places, 
because  the  Spaniards,  both  in  peace  and  war,  used  them  for 
fuel,  still  the  walls  in  the  valleys  are,  at  this  day,  entire  in 
most  places,  by  which  one  may  judge  of  the  former  greatness 
of  the  work ;  and  so  Guaynacava  went  by  one  road  and  re 
turned  by  the  other,  being  covered  and  shaded  all  the  way 
by  overhanging  branches  and  flowers  of  sweet  odor." 

Lopez  de  Gomara  (Hist.  Gen.  Cap.  194)  says:  "There  were 
two  royal  roads  from  the  city  of  Quito  to  that  of  Cuzco,  very 
costly  and  noble  works :  the  one  over  the  mountains,  and 
the  other  across  the  plains,  each  extending  more  than  a 
thousand  miles.  That  which  crossed  the  plains  was  walled 
on  both  sides,  and  was  twenty -five  feet  broad,  writh  ditches 
of  water  outside,  and  was  planted  with  trees  called  molle. 
That  which  was  on  the  mountains  was  also  twenty-five  feet 
wide,  cut  in  some  places  from  the  living  rock,  and  in  others, 
made  of  stone  and  lime  ;  for,  indeed,  it  was  necessary  to  cut 
away  the  rocks  or  fill  up  the  valleys  to  bring  the  road  to  a 
level: — it  was  a  work  which,  as  all  agree,  exceeded  the  pyra 
mids  of  Egypt,  and  the  paved  ways  of  the  Eomans,  and, 
indeed,  all  other  ancient  works.  Guaynacapac  restored,  en 
larged,  and  completed  them ;  but  he  did  not  build  them  en 
tirely,  as  some  pretend,  nor  could  they  have  been  constructed 


260  PERU. 

in  the  whole  time  of  his  life.  These  roads  went  in  a  direct 
line,  without  turning  aside  for  hills,  mountains,  or  evten  lakes ; 
and  for  resting-places  they  had  certain  grand  palaces  which 
were  called  '  tambosj  where  the  Court  and  royal  army  lodged : 
these  were  provided  with  arms,  food,  shoes,  and  clothing  for 
the  troops.  The  Spaniards,  in  their  civil  wars,  destroyed 
these  roads,  breaking  them  up  in  many  places,  to  impede  the 
march  of  each  other ;  and  the  Indians  themselves  demolished 
a  part  of  them  when  they  waged  war  and  laid  siege  to  the 
cities  of  Cuzco  and  Lima,  where  the  Spaniards  were." 

Juan  Botero  Benes  thus  speaks :  "  From  the  city  of  Cuzco 
there  are  two  roads  or  royal  ways  of  two  thousand  miles  in 
length:  of  which,  one  goes  over  the  plains,  and  the  other 
over  the  top  of  the  mountains,  in  such  manner,  that  to  make 
them,  it  was  necessary  to  fill  up  valleys,  to  cut  away  rocks, 
and  remove  the  summits  of  mountains.  They  are  twenty- 
five  feet  wide.  Works  which  are,  beyond  comparison,  greater 
than  the  monuments  of  Egypt  or  the  structures  of  Eome." 

Don  Juan  de  Velasco,  a  priest  of  Quito,  in  treating  of  the 
great  spaces  of  the  upper  road,  very  well  preserved,  which 
he  examined  on  the  mountain  of  Sashuay,  thus  writes  (Hist, 
del  Reyno  de  Quito,  Tom.  II.  Part  II.  Pag.  59) : 

"The  breadth  which  I  measured,  in  a  part  somewhat 
broken,  was  about  sixty  Castilian  varas :  in  another  part 
which  was  perfect,  it  was  more  than  seven  varas,  which  is 
more  than  twenty-one  feet,  a  space  sufficient  for  three  car 
riages  to  go  side  by  side.  It  may  be  that  the  twenty-five 
feet  of  which  Gomara  speaks  were  ladies'  feet ;  and  that  the 
fifteen  of  Ciec.a  and  Robertson  were  those  of  giants.  The 
part  cut  out  of  the  living  rock,  to  equalize  the  surface,  was 
covered  with  a  cement  or  a  mixture  of  lime  and  bitumen. 
The  earth-supported  and  less  firm  parts  were  made  of 
stone  covered  with  the  same  mixture,  in  which  might  be 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  261 

seen  very  minute  stones,  yet  much  larger  than  coarse  grains 
of  sand.  In  the  chasms  and  fissures  of  the  mountains,  the 
road  was  built  up  from  foundations  deep  below,  to  the  proper 
level,  with  large  stones  cemented  with  the  same  mixture. 
What  struck  me  with  surprise  was,  that  where  the  torrents 
of  water  from  the  rains  above  had  rushed  down  and  eaten 
out,  in  the  less  firm  parts,  the  portion  below  the  surface,  there 
was  left  in  the  air  a  causeway  like  a  very  firm  bridge  of  a 
single  stone ;  such  was  the  strength  of  this  cement  or  mix 
ture." 

"  The  difference  in  the  extent  of  these  roads,  the  only  point 
in  which  the  early  writers  differ  (!),  arises  from  the  different 
calculations  of  leagues  and  miles,  and  from  the  different 
points  toward  the  north  whence  they  begin  to  compute. 
They  did  not  begin  at  the  city  of  Quito,  as  some  have  said, 
but  in  the  province  of  Dehuaca,  one  degree  further  north, 
which  is  equal  to  one  hundred  miles  more.  From  the  city 
of  Quito  to  Cuzco  by  the  upper  road,  the  shortest  distance  is 
computed  at  five  hundred  leagues  of  four  thousand  lawful 
paces,  which  makes  two  thousand  miles;  while  the  upper 
road  is  in  truth,  at  the  shortest,  twenty-one  hundred  miles. 
The  lower  road  is  much  longer." 

Finally,  the  learned  Hwnboldt,  who  travelled  over  a  part  of 
the  royal  road  of  the  Incas,  thus  describes  it  (Ansichten  der 
Natur.  3d  Eft  Tom.  II.  p.  322) : 

"  But  what,  above  all  things,  relieves  the  severe  aspect  of 
the  deserts  of  the  Cordilleras,  are  the  remains,  as  marvellous 
as  unexpected,  of  a  gigantic  road,  the  work  of  the  Incas, 
which,  over  a  length  of  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
geographical  miles,  makes  a  communication  between  all  the 
provinces  of  the  empire.  The  traveller  discovers  at  different 
points,  and  for  the  most  part,  at  equal  distances,  edifices  con 
structed  of  well-cut  stone,  a  species  of  caravanseras,  called 


262  PERU. 

tambos,  or  inca-pilca.  Some  of  these  edifices  are  found  pro 
vided  with  fortifications ;  others  present  in  their  arrange 
ments  baths,  with  conduits  of  warm  water ;  in  fine,  the  larger 
ones  were  designed  for  the  family  of  the  sovereign  himself. 
At  the  foot  of  the  volcano  Cotopaxi,  near  to  Callo,  I  mea 
sured  and  made  designs  of  some  of  these  habitations,  so  well 
preserved,  which  Pedro  de  Ciec,a,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
called  the  apartments  ofMulado.  In  the  pass  of  the  Andes,  be 
tween  Mansi  and  Loxa,  called  Paramo  de  Assuay,  at  fourteen 
thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet  of  height,  (a  road 
much  frequented  on  the  side  of  Cadlud,  almost  of  the  same 
altitude  as  Mont  Blanc)  we  found  on  the  plain  of  Puttal 
much  difficulty  in  making  a  way  for  the  mules  over  a 
marshy  piece  of  earth,  while,  for  more  than  a  German  mile, 
our  sight  continually  rested  on  the  superb  remains  of  a  paved 
road  of  the  Incas,  twenty  feet  wide,  which  we  marked  resting 
on  its  deep  foundations,  and  paved  with  well-cut,  dark  por- 
phyritic  stone.  This  road  was  wonderful,  and  does  not  fall 
behind  the  most  imposing  Roman  ways  which  I  have  seen  in 
France,  Spain  and  Italy.  By  barometrical  observation,  I 
found  that  this  colossal  work  was  at  an  elevation  of  twelve 
thousand,  four  hundred  and  forty  feet,  which  exceeds,  by 
more  than  a  thousand  feet,  the  height  of  the  Peak  of  Tene- 
riffe.  At  this  same  level  there  are  found  at  Assuay  the 
ruins  of  the  palace  of  Inca  Tupac- Yupanqui,  known  under 
the  name  of  the  '  Paredones  del  Inca.''  From  here  the  road 
goes  toward  the  south  in  the  direction  of  Cuenca,  and  ends 
at  Canar,  a  small  fortress  in  good  preservation,  which  pro 
bably  goes  back  to  the  times  of  the  Inca  above  named,  or  to 
those  of  his  warlike  son,  Huayna-Capac." 

"We  have  also  seen  most  beautiful  remains  of  ancient 
Peruvian  roads  between  Loxa  and  the  river  Amazon,  near 
the  baths  of  the  Incas,  in  the  Paramo  [desert  or  open  place] 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  263 

of  Chulucanas,  not  far  from  Guancabamba,  and  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Ingatambo,  near  Pomahuaca.  The  remains  of 
the  road  of  the  Incas  near  Pomahuaca  has  but  little  elevation, 
and  my  observations  show  that  it  is  nine  thousand  one  hun 
dred  feet  lower  than  those  of  the  Paramo  de  Assuay.  Ac 
cording  to  astronomic  latitudes,  the  distance  between  them 
in  a  right  line  is  forty-six  geographical  miles,  and  the  higher 
exceeds,  by  thirty-seven  hundred  feet,  the  altitude  of  the  pass 
of  Mount  Cenis,  above  the  lake  of  Como.  Some  of  these 
paved  roads,  laid  with  flat  stones,  or,  as  in  certain  parts, 
covered  with  pebble  stones  and  gravel  [Macadamized  roads], 
traverse  the  broad  and  arid  plain  between  the  sea-shore  and 
the  chain  of  the  Andes ;  while  others  turn  toward  the  Cor 
dilleras.  They  have  way-marks  placed  at  regular  intervals, 
which  indicate  the  distances.  It  is  also  to  be  remarked  that 
for  passing  rivers  and  precipices  they  have  bridges  of  stone 
or  of  cords  [suspension  bridges],  while  aqueducts  supply 
water  to  the  small  towns,  and  to  the  tambos  or  lodging-places. 
These  two  systems  of  roads  met  at  Cuzco,  the  great  central 
poinf  of  the  empire." 

The  remains  of  the  upper  road,  which  we  have  measured, 
vary,  in  different  places,  from  eighteen  to  twenty-live  Casti- 
lian  feet.  The  lower  road  is  about  one  foot  wider.  The 
statements  of  all  the  authors  cited,  as  to  the  length  of  these 
roads,  are  somewhat  exaggerated.  Cuzco,  according  to  Pent- 
landt,  is  in  S.  latitude  13°  30'  55",  and  in  W.  longitude  74° 
14'  30",  and  at  a  height  of  10,676  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  Quito,  according  to  Oltmanns,  is  in  0°  14'  00''  S.  lati 
tude,  and  81°  40'  38"  W.  longitude,  which  would  make  the 
distance  between  them,  in  a  direct  line,  a  little  more  than 
three  hundred  leagues  ;  if  to  this  we  add  for  the  continuation 
of  the  road  northward  from  Quito  to  Dehuaca,  and  for  neces 
sary  turnings,  one  hundred  leagues,  we  have  a  total  of  fo*ur 


264  PERU. 

hundred.  The  lower  road,  by  reason  of  the  two  angles  which 
it  makes  in  descending  from  Cuzco  to  the  coast,  and  again  in 
ascending  from  the  coast  to  Quito,  was  about  a  hundred  and 
twenty  leagues  longer.  What  Sarmiento  says  of  eleven 
hundred  leagues  on  the  Sierra  is  not  true ;  but  the  errors  of 
his  day  are  more  excusable,  as  distances  were  then  calculated 
approximative^  only. 

In  considering  the  most  interesting  monuments  of  archi 
tecture,  we  will  begin  at  the  North,  with  the  immense  ruins 
of  the  palaces  of  Gran  Chimu.  Don  Mariano  E.  Rivero 
visited  them,  and  thus  describes  them  in  a  little  work  printed 
in  Lima,  in  1841,  and  subsequently  republished  in  London  : 

"  These  ruins  are  found  at  the  extremity  of  the  valley  of 
Truxillo,  and  at  the  distance  of  a  league  and  a  half  from 
Huanchaco.  We  have  no  data  from  which  to  fix  with  cer 
tainty  the  period  when  this  place  was  built :  all  we  know  is, 
that  in  the  time  of  the  Peruvian  Inca  Pachacutec,  who  was 
the  ninth  monarch,  there  reigned  in  these  valleys  as  absolute 
sovereign  Chimu  Capac,  whose  proper  name  was  Chimu  Canchu; 
that  the  Inca's  son,  the  prince  Yupanqui,  with  an  army  of 
thirty  thousand  men,  began  to  make  war  on  this  ruler  Chimu : 
that  Chimu's  pride  was  subdued,  and  by  the  advice  of  his 
captains,  he  was  induced  to  capitulate,  offering  to  worship 
the  Sun,  and  abandon  the  idols  of  his  country,  which  con 
sisted  of  the  representations  of  fish  and  other  animals.  In 
memory  of  this  victory,  the  Inca  commanded  certain  fortresses 
to  be  built  in  the  valley  of  Paramanca,  the  ruins  of  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pativilca. 

The  ruins  of  Chimu  cover  a  space  of  three-quarters  of  a 
league,  exclusive  of  the  great  squares,  the  walls  of  which 
are  of  small  stones  joined  together  with  mortar ;  and  which 
probably  were  used  as  fields  for  agriculture,  as  the  marks  of 
the  furrows  are  even  to  this  day  visible. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  265 

From  the  village  of  Mansiche,  which  is  at  the  gates  of 
Truxillo,  \ve  begin  to  see  the  walls  of  adobe,  and  the  vestiges 
of  this  once  great  settlement ;  and  at  the  distance  of  a  mile 
from  the  native  village  just  named,  on  the  left  hand  of  the 
road  from  Huanchaco,  commence  the  grand  squares.  The 
dimensions  of  these  vary  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred 
and  seventy  yards  in  length,  and  from  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  in  breadth ;  their  number  may  be  seven 
or  eight :  they  are  found  on  the  north  side  of  the  large 
edifices  or  palaces.  The  walls  which  surround  those  edifices 
are  of  considerable  solidity,  and  are  formed  of  adobes  of  ten 
or  twelve  yards  long,  and  five  or  six  broad  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  wall,  but  gradually  diminishing  until  they  termi 
nate  in  a  breadth  of  one  yard  at  the  top.  Some  of  the 
squares  contain  Huacas,  and  the  walls  of  large  apartments 
or  halls.* 

Each  of  the  palaces  was  completely  surrounded  by  an  ex 
terior  wall ;  that  of  the  first  is  plain,  and  double  the  size  of  that 
of  the  second.  It  was  five  yards  broad  at  the  bottom, 
tapered  gradually  to  one  at  the  top,  and  was  fifty  in 
height.  It  is  constructed  of  stone  and  mortar  and  adobes. 

O 

In  the  first  palace,  which  is  the  larger,  there  is  another 
square  in  which  are  found  apartments  made  of  small 
stones  and  mortar,  whitewashed  within,  with  the  thres 
holds  of  stone  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  yards  long,  and 
more  than  a  third  of  a  yard  in  thickness :  it  is  supposed 
that  these  were  sepulchres,  or  perhaps  apartments  for  the 

*  The  word  Huaca,  or  as  it  is  written  in  old  Spanish,  Guaca,  is  Peruvian, 
and  properly  signifies  any  sacred  place  or  thing ;  and  also  sometimes  any 
thing,  whether  sacred  or  not,  that  is  excellent  or  extraordi  nary.  It  was 
a  generic  term,  and  was  applied  by  the  natives  to  their  idols  and  places  of 
worship.  It  is  here  applied  to  places  of  interment,  large  sepulchres  con 
taining  many  dead  bodies. — [TRANSLATOR.] 
12 


266  PERU. 

concubines  of  Chimu.  There  are  also  several  plazas  regularly 
laid  out  by  line,  thus  forming  different  streets,  of  varying 
dimensions.  The  large  excavation  in  which  are  now  grow 
ing  several  fig-trees  was  the  reservoir  from  which  the 
inhabitants  obtained  the  water  they  needed ;  and  was  sup 
plied  by  subterranean  aqueducts  from  the  river  Moclie, 
which  is  distant  about  two  miles  to  the  north-east.  This 
palace  had  two  entrances  opposite  to  each  other,  and  placed 
respectively  in  the  middle  of  the  longer  sides.  On  the  east 
ern  side,  and  about  thirty  yards  from  the  right  angle  formed 
by  the  walls,  there  was  a  square  or  enclosure  of  five  hundred 
yards,  by  four  hundred  in  extent,  which  reached  to  the  sea: 
in  this  were  found  some  small  houses  and  a  Huaca  with  sub 
terranean  passages  in  its  most  solid  parts.  Beside  this,  there 
were  other  squares  which  were  enclosed  for  agricultural  pur 
poses. 

The  second  palace  is  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  yards  east  of  the  first,  and  is  placed  parallel  to 
it.  It  contains  various  plazas  and  houses,  from  the  regular 
arrangement  of  which  result  streets,  though  somewhat  narrow. 
At  one  of  the  extremities  is  the  Huaca  of  Misa,  surrounded 
by  a  low  wall.  This  Iluacais  traversed  by  small  alleys  from 
three-quarters  to  a  yard  in  width,  and  in  it  are  also  found 
some  tolerably  large  chambers.  In  former  times  there  have 
been  taken  from  this  Huaca  many  mummies,  cloths,  various 
pieces  of  silver  and  gold,  iron  [?]  tools,  and  an  idol  of  stone 
with  small  pieces  of  mother  of  pearl,  which  are  now  in  the 
possession  of  Senor  Condemarin. 

All  the  walls  of  these  interior  edifices  are  of  the  mixture 
of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  or  of  adobes,  half  a  yard 
long,  and  a  quarter  of  a  yard  wide.  We  subjoin  vertical 
sections  which  will  give  an  idea  of  the  walls,  and  of  the 
labor  employed  in  their  construction. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES. 


267 


SECTIONS  AND  PORTIONS   OF  THE   EDIFICES   AT    GRAN-CHIMU,    IN     THE    VALLEY     OF 

TRUXILLO. 

Outside  of  these  remarkable  edifices  there  was  a  great 
number  of  enclosures  and  small  houses,  some  round  and 
others  square,  which  undoubtedly  were  the  habitations  of  the 
lower  classes ;  and  the  great  extent  of  which  justify  us  in 
supposing  that  the  population  must  have  been  very  nu 
merous. 

Among  these  ruins  there  exist  many  small  artificial  emi- 


268  PERU. 

nences  composed  of  small  stones  in  the  form  of  a  truncated 
cone ;  these  are  known  under  the  name  of  Huacas ;  and 
from  these  have  been  frequently  obtained  curiosities  illustra 
tive  of  the  ancient  inhabitants ;  and  there  is  not  the  least 
doubt  that  the  subterranean  explorers  have  also  sometimes 
found  riches. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  1563,  Don  Diego  Pineda  being 
then  chief  magistrate,  there  were  discovered  in  the  sepul 
chres  of  the  principal  Indians  considerable  quantities  of  gold, 
in  pieces  of  various  forms.  It  appears  from  the  books  of  the 
royal  coffers  of  Truxillo,  of  1566,  that  Garcia  Gutierrez  of 
Toledo,  grandson  of  Antonio  Gutierrez,  gave  to  the  king, 
as  his  fifths,  on  the  first  occasion,  85,547  castellanos  of 
gold*  from  the  Huaca  which  was  known  by  the  name  of  Tole 
do,  reserving  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  of  the  villages  of 
Mansiche  and  Huaman,  39,062  dollars  and  four  reals.  In 
the  year  1592,  the  work  was  resumed,  and  there  was  paid 
as  the  king's  proportion,  47,020  castellanos,  so  that  the 
monarch  received  in  all  135,547  castellanos.  f 

In  the  year  1550,  the  cacique  of  the  village  of  Mansiche, 
Don  Antonio  Chayque,  a  legitimate  descendant  of  the  ruler 
Chimu  Canchu,  showed  to  the  Spaniards  a  Huaca  called 
Llomayoahuan,  near  to  the  ruined  palace  of  Chimu  Canchu, 
upon  condition  that  they  should  give  a  part  of  the  treasure 
obtained  for  the  relief  of  his  Indians ;  and  after  having 
robbed  it  of  great  wealth,  the  agreement  was  violated  by 
the  Spaniards ;  the  cacique  then  pretended  that  he  knew  of 
a  still  greater  treasure  which  he  could  discover,  to  obtain 
which,  they  gave  him  42,187  dollars,  which  they  raised  by  a 
tax  charged  on  the  inhabitants  in  favor  of  the  Indians  before 
named ;  of  this  very  little  of  the  principal  now  remains, 

*  A  castellano  is  about  5s.  6d.  sterling.— [TRANSLATOR.] 
t  Nearly  $170,000. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  269 

partly  from  the  calamities  of  the  times,  and  partly  from  the 
unfaithful  administration  of  the  protectors  of  the  Indians, 
or  the  collectors  of  the  taxes. — (Feijoo  de  8osa.) 

It  is  certain  that  there  have  been  obtained  from  the  Huaca 
of  Concha,  half  a  league  from  the  city,  considerable  quan 
tities  of  gold,  and  also  some  fetters,  which  are  supposed  to 
be  of  copper,  and  were  preserved  for  the  Bishop  of  Cuonca, 
by  Don  Miguel  Concha  y  Mansuvillaga.  The  Huaca  of  the 
bishop,  distant  half  a  league  from  the  one  above  mentioned, 
is  the  largest  of  all,  but  up  to  this  time  has  yielded  nothing. 
The  Huaca  of  Misa,  which  is  in  the  second  palace,  has  been 
worked  with  some  loss,  and  is  traversed  almost  through  its 
whole  extent  by  small  alleys  more  or  less  narrow,  and  white 
washed  ;  the  coverings  of  which  are  of  stone,  from  a  yard  and 
n  half  to  two  yards  wide.  From  this  have  been  taken  various 
pieces  of  gold,  many  idols,  mantles,  and  one  stone  idol,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.  From  many  other  small 
Huacas  have  been  obtained  mantles  well  adorned  with 
square  pieces  of  gold ;  detached  pieces  of  the  same  metal, 
and  robes  made  with  feathers  of  divers  colors ;  these  were 
found  by  Dr.  Casaverde,  and  should  be  now  in  London. 

It  is  but  a  short  time  since  a  company,  composed  of  inhabi 
tants  of  Truxillo,  ceased  to  work  the  Huacas  of  Toledo  and 
Concha ;  and  it  is  even  said  that,  in  the  first,  has  been  found  the 
great  peje  ;*  near  to  the  second  has  been  lately  found  very  thin 
plates  of  gold  about  two  inches  broad,  also  instruments  of 
stone,  and  mantles,  all  of  which  are  in  the  possession  of  Don 
Jose  Eodriguez. 

*  There  is  a  tradition  that  in  this  Huaca  were  two  treasures,  known  as 
the  great  and  little  peje ;  that  the  first  is  still  buried,  and  that  the  second 
has  been  found  at  Toledo. 


270 


PERU. 


WALLED  SQUARE  IN  PALACE  OF  CHIMU-CANCHU,  NEAR  TRUXILLO. 


SCULPTURED  PANELS  ON  A  WALL  OF  PALACE  AT  CIIIMU-CANCHU. 


SCULPTURED  ORNAMENTS  ON  THE  WALL  OF  PALACE  AT  CHIMU-CANCHU. 

To  this  relation  we  will  add  a  short  notice  concerning 
certain  curiosities,  found  in  the  Huacas  of  Toledo,  and  else 
where,  as  communicated  by  Don  Jose  Ignacio  Lequende  to 
the  "  Peruvian  Mercury"  (Vol.  VIII.  p.  80).  One  of  these 
was  the  body  of  an  Indian  with  a  head-covering*  or  veil,  and 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  271 

a  crown  with  four  tassels,  of  which  two  hung  down  on  the 
back,  and  the  other  two  before,  in  front  of  the  ears.  On 
his  neck  was  a  species  of  broad  cravat,  the  ends  of  which 
fell  upon  the  breast;  in  one  hand  was  something  like  a  nail, 
and  in  the  other  a  symbol  which  was  unintelligible.  His 
outer  robe  was  a  tunic  terminating  in  points.  Another  was 
also  the  body  of  an  Indian  seated  with  his  legs  crossed 
under  him,  (which,  by  the  way,  is  a  very  common  posture 
among  them,)  his  hands  upon  his  knees,  his  temples  bound 
with  a  sort  of  swathe  or  turban,  the  ends  of  which  reached 
below  his  beard ;  two  others  crossed  this  with  a  skirt  which 
fell  down  behind,  from  which  came  two  rounded  pieces  to 
cover  the  shoulders ;  on  the  top  of  his  bonnet  there  was  a 
shell  adorned  with  much  beauty.  Another  was  a  model  of 
clay,  which  represented  an  Indian  with  his  cap  stuck  on  one 
side  of  his  head,  his  hair  dishevelled,  and  hanging  about  his 
ears,  and  in  the  attitude  of  a  toper  about  to  drink ;  on  his 
shoulder  was  a  monkey  seated  by  his  ear.  Another  figure 
was  of  an  Indian  of  very  grave  aspect,  sitting,  with  a  mitre 
on  his  head,  which  he  was  in  the  act  of  adjusting;  certain 
pendants  hung  from  each  arm,  and  a  mantle,  girdled  at  the 
waist,  descended  and  covered  his  feet. 

The  temple  of  the  Sun  was  situated  three-quarters  of  a 
league  east  of  the  city,  and  halfway  from  the  native  village 
of  Moche :  it  is  found  at  the  foot  of  a  rock  pertaining  to  the 
Cordilleras,  composed  of  sienite,  in  which  occur  veins  of  a 
compact  amphibolic  rock  which  runs  from  north  to  south ; 
there  are  also  to  be  seen  veins  of  feldspar ;  these  are  greatly 
ramified,  and  frequently  cross  each  other.  At  the  foot  of  this 
rock  may  be  seen  an  edifice,  with  many  surrounding  habita 
tions  in  ruins:  it  is  almost  square,  having  a  front  of  one  hun 
dred  and  eight  yards ;  it  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  four  yards 
broad,  made  of  adobes,  as  indeed  is  the  whole  edifice.  It  is 


272  PERU. 

said  that  here  was  the  dwelling-place  of  the  priests  and  vir 
gins  of  the  temple.  It  has  a  length  of  150  yards,  a  breadth 
at  the  upper  end  of  125,  and  at  the  lower  of  156 ;  its  height 
is  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  yards.  It  is  constructed  in  ter 
races  of  four  yards  each,  inclining  inward  from  the-  founda 
tion,  which  is,  of  course,  the  broadest  part.  It  has  the  shape 
of  a  [sledge]  hammer,  and  is  built  of  adobes ;  toward  the 
centre,  and  in  the  lower  part,  it  is  traversed  by  a  small  street, 
which  is  dark  and  full  of  bats.  The  direction  is  from  north 
to  south :  from  this  point  is  presented  a  magnificent  view 
embracing  the  whole  valley,  the  sea,  and  the  city  of  Truxillo." 

Worthy  to  be  placed  by  the  side  of  these  wonderful  ruins 
are  those  of  Cuelap,  of  the  district  of  Saint  Thomas,  a  descrip 
tion  of  which  is  given  by  Don  Juan  Grisostomo  JYieto,  judge  of 
the  first  tribunal,  in  the  following  official  communication  of 
the  31st  of  January,  1843,  made  to  the  prefect  of  the  depart 
ment  of  the  Amazon,  Don  Miguel  Mesia. 

"  Having  been  appointed  in  this  territory  of  Cuelap  to  ad 
just  the  boundaries  commanded  to  be  made  by  the  Supreme 
Governor  of  the  Republic,  in  the  course  of  the  labor,  I  have 
encountered  a  work  well  worthy  of  public  notice.  It  is  a 
solid  wall  of  cut  stone,  three  thousand  six  hundred  feet  long, 
five  hundred  and  seventy  broad,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
high :  the  whole  structure  being  solid  in  the  interior ;  since 
the  whole  space  contained  within  the  5,376,000  feet  (?)  of  cir 
cumference,  having,  as  before  said,  a  height  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  is  a  solid  mass  of  earth :  upon  this  terrace  there  is 
another  wall  of  three  hundred  thousand  feet  in  circumference, 
being  six  hundred  long  on  one  side,  and  five  hundred  on  the 
other,  with  the  same  elevation  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
that  the  lower  wall  has.  This  upper  enclosure  is  also  filled 
in  with  earth,  like  the  lower.  But  in  this  upper  elevation, 
as  well  as  in  that  below,  are  found  a  multitude  of  habitations 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  273 

or  chambers  made  of  cut  stone,  of  the  size  of  eighteen  feet 
by  fifteen ;  and  in  these  chambers,  as  well  as  in  the  stone 
work  of  the  outer  solid  walls,  are  found  niches,  artificially 
made,  of  a  yard  or  two-thirds  of  a  yard  in  length,  and  of  half 
a,  yard  in  width,  in  which  are  deposited  the  bones  of  those 
long  since  dead  ;  some  of  these  are  naked,  and  others  envel 
oped  in  cloths  of  cotton,  very  thick,  and  sometimes  coarse ; 
and  all  wrought  with  borders  of  many  colors.  The  only  dif 
ference,  between  these  niches  and  those  of  our  Pantheons  is 
in  their  depth  ;  for  instead  of  the  two  or  three  yards  which 
we  now  use,  to  place  our  bodies,  (as  we  do  place  them)  after 
death  in  a  straight  position,  they  only  used  a  few  feet ;  be 
cause  they  so  doubled  them  that  their  knees  reached  to  the 
point  of  their  beard,  and  their  hands  were  twined  about  their 
legs,  and  the  whole  position  resembled  that  of  the  foetus  of 
four  months.  There  were  three  doors  or  openings  in  the 
solid  wall,  and  these  call  for  our  notice  ;  for  the  right  side 
of  each  one  of  these  openings  is  semicircular,  while  the  left  is 
angular-;  and  from  the  base  of  the  entrance  commenced  an 
inclined  plane,  which  ascended,  by  almost  imperceptible 
gradations,  to  the  top  of  the  elevation  mentioned,  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet;  and  this,  half  way  up,  had  on  it  a 
species  of  sentry-box,  from  which,  as  it  proceeded,  it  diverged 
from  its  former  direct  course,  and  made  a  curve  to  the  right, 
having  also,  at  the  upper  extremity,  an  ingenious  hiding- 
place,  made  of  cut  stone,  from  which  the  passage  of  any  one 
from  below  might  be  effectually  impeded.  The  entrance  be 
low  commenced  with  a  width  of  six  feet ;  but  in  the  interior, 
at  the  upper  end,  this  was  diminished  to  two  feet,  and  as  soon 
as  the  summit  was  reached,  the  landing  was  on  a  look-out, 
from  which  was  a  commanding  view,  not  only  of  the  plain 
below,  and  of  all  its  roads,  but  even  of  a  considerable  part  of  the 
province,  embracing  the  capital  at  a  distance  of  eleven  leagues. 


274  PERU. 

Proceeding  onward,  we  next  came  upon  the  entrances  and 
inclined  plane  of  the  second  wall ;  this  wall  differed  from  the 
first  in  length  and  breadth  only,  in  height  (as  we  have  said) 
it  was  the  same.  Here  were  found  other  sepulchres  which 
were  built  like  ovens,  six  feet  in  height,  and  twenty-four  or 
thirty  in  circumference  ;  the  floors  of  these  were  paved  with 
flat  stones,  and  on  each  rested  the  remains  of  a  man  or 
woman.  Having  examined  these  places  yesterday,  I  and  my 
companions  paused  to  rest ;  to-day  we  ascended  to  the  top  of 
a  rock  which  is  without  the  walls,  and  a  part  of  which,  in  fact, 
serves  as  a  foundation  for  the  edifices.  Having,  with  much 
toil,  passed  over  a  road  almost  destroyed  by  the  waters,  and 
having  subjected  ourselves  to  the  dangers  of  descending  an 
almost  perpendicular  depth  of  nine  hundred  feet,  by  aiding 
each  other,  we  came  to  a  hollow  or  species  of  cavern,  formed 
by  the  rocks  which  make  the  hill,  in  which  were  ten  bundles 
of  human  bones,  perfectly  preserved,  wrapped  each  in  its 
mantle  or  covering.  One  of  these  bundles  contained  the  re 
mains  of  a  man  of  full  age,  and  was  covered  with  a  cloth 
made  of  hair,  which,  together  with  the  skeleton  it  covered,  is 
in  my  possession ;  another,  probably  the  remains  of  a 
woman,  I  left,  because  in  separating  a  bone  from  the  leg,  the 
head  was  broken  from  the  trunk.  This  woman  must  have 
been  aged  when  she  died,  since  she  was  gray-haired;  and 
without  doubt,  she  was  the  mother  of  the  seven  children, 
the  skeletons  of  which  composed  seven  of  the  ten  bundles 
we  found.  Of  these  I  have  two,  and  Don  Gregorio  Rodri 
guez  also  brought  away  two,  together  with  a  cotton  mantle 
of  various  colors,  and  a  scarf  wrought  in  colors.  We  left 
three  skeletons  of  children  and  one  of  an  adult,  because  the 
ligaments  which  held  the  bones  together  were  broken.  All 
had  the  same  posture,  and  the  hair  of  the  children  was  very 
fine,  short,  and  red,  and  not  like  that  of  the  present  natives ; 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  275 

the  females  had  in  their  ears  golden  ornaments,  and  also  about 
the  head  a  large  twisted  roll  of  coarse  cotton. 

I  have  since  felt  much  regret  at  not  having  been  able  to 
pursue  my  examinations  at  this  locality,  as  probably  I  might 
have  discovered  more ;  but  we  found  it  necessary  to  take  a 
new  direction  to  look  at  another  spot  where,  we  were  assured, 
there  was  more  to  be  seen.  To  accomplish  this  we  descended 
on  the  north  side,  and  afterward  came  to  the  foot  of  a  very  steep 
hill,  which  we  found  unusually  difficult  of  ascent,  because  of 
the  dry  grass  with  which  it  was  covered,  causing  us  to  slip 
back  at  every  step.  Having  ascended  some  six  hundred  feet, 
we  found  it  impossible  to  proceed  further,  because  of  a  per 
pendicular  rock  which  intercepted  our  approach  to  a  stone 
wall  containing  small  windows,  about  sixty  feet  above  us ; 
and  for  want  of  a  ladder  and  time  we  could  not  see  what 
was  within  the  wall,  which  stood  on  an  elevation  command 
ing  a  view,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  to  the  east,  north 
and  west.  We  were  therefore  obliged  to  leave,  regretting 
that  we  could  know  nothing  of  what  this  work  might  indi 
cate,  nor  of  the  fossil  remains  and  other  objects  of  interest  in 
the  wall  itself,  nor  of  what  might  be  contained  in  the  space 
within ;  for  the  little  time  which  I  could  spare  from  official 
duties  did  not  allow  me  to  be  long  absent  from  the  capital, 
lest  the  administration  of  justice  should  suffer  in  my  absence. 
These  obstacles,  too,  were  increased  by  the  difficulty  of  pro 
curing  hands  to  undertake  any  work  ;  for  the  natives  had  a 
great  dread  of  this  spot,  on  account  of  the  mummies  it  con 
tained  ;  they  supposing  that  it  would  occasion  disease  to 
touch  them  only,  and  th|^  were  frightened  even  by  simply 
looking  at  them.  But  by  working  ourselves,  and  handling 
the  bones  with  great  freedom  before  the  natives,  the  more 
intelligent  of  them  lost  at  length  a  portion  of  the  fear  which 
their  prejudice  had  inspired.  There  were  also  reasons  why 


276  PERU. 

I  could  not  approach  the  wall  before  named  on  the  south 
west  side,  where  I  was  assured  there  were  some  curiously 
formed  trenches  ;  for  it  was  impossible  to  ascend  from  below, 
and  the  only  mode  of  ascent  would  have  been  by  ropes  let 
down  from  the  top  of  the  wall  itself.  Nor  could  I  visit  a 
subterranean  excavation  which  Don  Gregorio,  a  man  of  charac 
ter,  assured  me  existed  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  of 
Condechaca,  and  where,  as  he  said,  were  many  skulls,  small 
excavations,  and  other  objects  ;  he  had  penetrated  it  to  a  dis 
tance  at  which  the  lights  were  extinguished  for  want  of  air, 
and  he  could  proceed  no  further." 

The  ruins  of  old  Huanuco  are  chiefly  interesting  from  the 
six  portals,  which  are  well  preserved  one  within  the  other, 
and  of  which  it  is  not  positively  known  whether  they  formed 
a  part  of  the  sumptuous  palace  of  the  Incas,  or  of  the  immense 
temple  of  the  Sun  which  was  so  imposing  in  the  reign  of  the 
sovereigns  of  Peru,  and  which  "alone  had  room  for  the  ser 
vice  of  more  than  30,000  Indians,"  (Ciega,  Chron.  Chap. 
LXXX.)  Another  object  of  interest  is  a  species  of  look-out, 
the  use  of  which  in  ancient  times  we  do  not  know,  but  which 
was  probably  the  place  where  priests  offered  their  sacrifices 
to  the  Sun. 


GATEWAYS—OLD  HUANUCO. 

(277) 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


277 


GROUND  PLAN — GATEWAYS — OLD  HUANUCO. 


LOOK-OUT — OLD  UUANUCO. 


The  architecture  of  these  ruins  is  singularly  distinct  from 
that  of  the  other  edifices  in  the  time  of  the  Peruvian  Emper 
ors,  and  according  to  all  appearances  derives  its  origin  from 
an  era  more  remote  than  the  dynasty  of  the  Incas.  Don 


278  PERU. 

Mariano  Eduardo  de  Eivero  says:  "The  ruins  of  old 
Huanuco  are  two  leagues  distant  from  the  town  of  Aguamiro 
toward  the  west.  The  Indians  know  the  ruins  under  the 
name  of  Auqui-Huanuco  ;  they  are  situated  in  a  plain,  four 
leagues  in  length  and  three  in  width,  and  at  a  height  of  3600 
metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  ancient  settlement  is 
converted,  at  the  present  day,  into  a  place  for  herding  cattle, 
and  you  meet  here  and  there  with  a  few  Indians  only,  who 
do  not  understand  the  Spanish  language.  Among  the  ruins 
you  notice  particularly  the  fortress,  or  look-out,  and  the 
palace.  The  bulk  of  the  settlement  is  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  from  these  edifices,  and  the  look-out  about  a  half- 
mile  from  the  entrance  of  the  palace. 

The  look-out  is  quadrilateral,  fifty-six  paces  in  length  and 
thirty -six  in  width ;  the  height  of  the  wall  is  about  five  yards, 
and  inclined  inward  from  the  base.  It  rests  upon  two  courses 
of  round  stone  about  a  yard  and  a  half  high.  The  walls  are 
a  yard  and  a  quarter  in  thickness,  and  are  of  cut  stone,  termi 
nating  in  a  cornice,  which  is  composed  of  a  blue  shell  lime 
stone  :  the  stones  are  a  yard  and  a  half  in  length,  and  half  a 
yard  thick.  With  few  exceptions,  the  stones  which  compose 
the  walls  are  of  equal  dimensions,  and  are,  generally  speaking, 
very  well  cemented.  The  interior  is  composed  of  gravel 
and  clay,  but  in  the  centre  is  seen  a  large  cavity,  which  they 
assert  communicates  by  a  subterranean  passage  with  the 
palace.  On  the  southern  side  is  a  door,  and  instead  of  steps 
a  terrace  after  the  manner  of  an  inclined  plane,  which  was  a 
contrivance  much  used  by  the  Indians,  judging  from  appear 
ances,  to  raise  large  masses  to  the  upper  part  of  the  edifices. 
At  the  door-way  are  observed  two  partially  effaced  figures,  of 
which  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  they  were  meant  for  monkeys 
or  other  animals.  From  the  upper  story  may  be  distinguished 
the  whole  plain,  and  the  gates  of  the  famous  palace. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  279 

Our  design  represents  the  six  portals  of  the  house  of  the 
Inca.  Upon  entering  it,  on  the  right  and  left  hand  are  two 
saloons  of  more  than  one  hundred  yards  in  length  and  four 
teen  in  width,  with  their  corresponding  doors.  The  walls, 
which  are  of  Pirca  (round  stones  mixed  with  clay  only, 
without  any  order),  one  yard  and  a  half  in  width,  have 
sculptured  stones  in  the  doorways  only.  You  next  enter  the 
first  portal  or  gate  of  sculptured  stone,  three  yards  in  height 
and  one  and  a  half  in  width ;  the  opening  of  the  door  is  two 
yards,  the  lintel  is  of  one  single  stone  four  yards  long,  and 
half  a  yard  thick.  The  jambs  are  of  one  single  piece, 
and  seem  to  be  sculptured  by  chisel.  There  are  to  be  seen 
two  figures  cut  in  the  same  piece,  which  seem  to  be  monkeys. 

About  three  yards  distant,  comes  the  second  gate,  con 
structed  in  the  same  manner,  except  only  that  it  has  two 
sculptured  figures,  effaced  in  the  upper  part.  You  enter 
next  a  spacious  court,  surrounded  with  stone  of  Pirca,  of 
slight  elevation,  and  three-quarters  of  a  yard  in  width ;  in 
continuation  and  in  the  same  line  are  found  two  other  gate 
ways  of  similar  architecture,  but  of  smaller  dimensions. 

Next  comes  another  smaller  court,  and  finally  two  other 
gates,  still  smaller,  and  of  sculptured  stone.  Passing  these, 
there  are  found  on  the  left  hand  rooms  of  cut  stone,  five 
yards  in  length,  two  and  a  half  in  width,  and  four  in  height ; 
there  are  also  niches  in  the  walls.  There  are  other  rooms 
of  cut  stone,  through  which  passes  an  aqueduct,  which  is 
said  to  have  been  the  bathing-place  of  the  Inca. 

In  front  of  the  dwellings  is  found  an  artificial  terrace, 
sufficiently  wide,  and  underneath  a  large  court  where  it  is 
supposed  several  species  of  animals  were  kept  for  the  diversion 
of  the  monarch.  In  the  centre  was  a  receptacle  for  water; 
an  aqueduct  passes  through  the  last  gate,  and  very  near  the 
sculptured  rooms. 


280  PERU* 

In  one  of  these  is  found  a  niche,  where  they  assert  the 
maids  were  placed  in  order  to  see  whether  it  would  contain 
them,  and  if  they  could  get  in,  they  were  deemed  fit  for  the 
service  of  his  majesty. (?)  There  are  also,  at  the  first  gateway, 
two  holes,  which  perforate  the  wall,  and  are  said  to  have  been 
the  place  of  punishment ;  the  first  is  hollowed  in  the  form  of 
the  breast,  of  a  convenient  height,  and  was,  without  doubt, 
intended  for  the  women,  the  second  being  for  the  men.(?) 

The  direction  of  these  edifices  is  from  east  to  west,  and 
the  stones  of  which  they  are  composed  are  blue  lime  and 
sand-stone. 

To  the  south-west  of  the  look-out,  and  about  a  quarter  of 
a  league  from  it,  are  seen  houses  made  on  the  same  ridges, 
forming  a  series  of  terraces  or  steps,  and  it  is  said  that  there 
they  preserve  the  grain  of  seven  provinces. 

We  must  take  notice  that  the  army  of  Liberty,  in  the  year 
1824,  marching  toward  the  south,  in  the  campaign  against 
the  Spaniards,  encamped  in  the  very  same  places  where 
halted  the  army  of  the  Inca,  when  he  marched  to  the  con 
quest  of  Quito. 

The  stones  of  which  the  palace  and  fortress  are  composed 
were  taken  from  a  ridge,  about  half  a  mile  distant,  and  there 
is  yet  to  be  seen  some  lying  cut  in  the  quarry.  At  a  short 
distance  are  to  be  seen  the  vestiges  of  a  large  settlement, 
which  seems  to  have  contained  many  thousand  inhabitants  ; 
and  this  probably  was  a  favorite  spot,  and  of  much  impor 
tance  to  the  Incas.  All  the  walls  are  made  of  round  stones 
and  clay.  The  celebrated  hot-baths  of  Aguamiro  are  two 
miles  from  this  old  town. 

At  the  distance  of  three-quarters  of  a  league  from  Miro- 
liuain,  is  the  place  where  criminals  were  interred,  and  which 
served  also  as  a  prison ;  it  has  a  deep  well. 

Near  the  town  of  Chupan,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Mara- 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  281 

non,  is  a  tower  situated  on  the  upper  part  of  a  high  ridge 
which  overhangs  the  river,  and  rises  above  the  road  which 
passes  by  its  foot ;  it  forms  a  most  frightful  precipice,  from 
which  they  threw  criminals  into  the  waters  of  this  powerful 
current. 

In  speaking  of  the  ruins  of  the  district  of  Junin,  Don 
Mariano  E.  de  Eivero  says : — 

"  At  the  town  of  Ghavinillo  begins  a  system  of  fortifica 
tions  or  castles,  as  these  places  are  called,  situated  on  both 
sides  of  a  chasm.  It  has  not  yet  been  discovered  what  in 
duced  the  Incas  to  construct  in  this  part  of  the  interior,  and 
away  from  the  great  road  which  led  to  Quito,  so  many  places 
of  defence ;  but  it  is  presumed  to  have  been  with  a  view  to 
the  invasions  which  they  suffered  from  the  tribes  which  in 
habited  the  Pampas  of  the  Sacramento,  and  the  banks  of  the 
large  rivers  which  irrigated  these  immense  plains ;  and  a  proof 
of  it  is  that  the  fortress  of  Urp-is,  which  is  in  the  interior  of  the 
mountains,  about  five  leagues  from  Tuntamayo,  on  the  road  by 
Monzon  and  Chicoplaya,  is  the  largest,  the  best  situated  and 
best  constructed  of  all;  almost  the  whole  is  of  wrought  stone. 

The  first  castle  which  was  built  in  this  direction,  was  that 
of  Hasor,  near  C-havinillo,  situated  on  an  eminence,  the  walls 
of  which  are  of  micaceous  slate  mixed  with  clay.  In  the 
angles  of  the  large  square  are  certain  round  sentry-boxes, 
made  of  the  same  material,  three  yards  in  height,  and  filled 
with  bones ;  outside  of  these  are  seen  round  rooms,  and 
square,  with  cupboards ;  the  lintels  are  of  the  same  stone. 
There  must  have  been  water  on  this  eminence,  as  there  are 
still  seen  the  remains  of  an  aqueduct. 

On  the  opposite  side,  and  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river, 
are  seen  two  of  these  castles;  the  first  situated  on  the  point 
of  a  steep  ridge,  and  the  other  on  the  mountain  a  little  above 
it.  Between  these  two  are  small  forts,  which  have  the  ap- 


282  PERU. 

pearance  of  steps,  and  communicate  by  roads  that  are  very 
plain. 

Following  the  course  of  the  river  in  the  direction  of  Chugui- 
bamba,  you  pass  through  the  towns  of  Cagua,  Obas,  and 
Chupan.  All  along  the  road  are  found  the  ruins  of  ancient 
settlements  and  castles.  Near  the  last  there  is  one  with  a 
staircase  leading  to  the  top,  very  wide,  slightly  sloping,  and 
well  constructed. 

On  the  chasm  of  Chacabairiba,  province  of  Huamalies,  upon 
the  river  Maranon,  and  near  the  royal  road  of  the  Incas,  by 
which  I  came  from  Jauja,  following  its  track,  generally  nine 
yards  in  width,  are  found  the  ruins  of  the  tambos  of  the 
Incas,  made  of  small  pieces,  almost  square,  of  the  micaceous 
slate.  There  still  exist  in  Tambocancha  six  sentry-boxes,  and 
in  front  of  them  four  others,  from  four  to  five  yards  in  height, 
round  in  part,  and  having  square  doors.  They  are  made 
of  the  same  rock  spoken  of  above,  with  chalky  clay ;  in  the 
interior  they  are  well  cemented  and  form  a  solid  wall, 
divided  by  large  flagging  stones ;  they  are  used  by  the  natives 
at  the  present  day  to  keep  their  potatoes  and  corn.  The 
whole  of  the  precincts  are  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  stone  and 
clay,  and  many  human  remains  are  found,  as  also  walls  of 
houses,  some  round,  some  square. 

In  the  province  of  Oonchucos-Alto  is  found  the  town  of 
Chavin  de  Huanta,  situated  on  a  narrow  piece  of  uneven 
ground,  which  runs  from  north  to  south.  Its  inhabitants, 
numbering  eight  hundred,  enjoy  a  mild  temperature  and 
sulphur  waters,  which  spring  from  a  sandy  rock,  very  near 
the  river  Marias.  The  temperature  of  the  water  by  the  ther 
mometer  of  Fahrenheit  is  112  degrees,  the  atmosphere  being 
at  52°.  A  few  squares  from  the  town  are  found  the  remains 
of  ancient  edifices  almost  destroyed,  and  covered  with  vege 
table  earth.  The  outer  walls  are  of  stone,  made  of  different 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  283 

shapes  and  laid  without  any  mortar,  but  in  the  interior  they 
are  discovered  to  be  of  round  stone  and  clay. 

Being  desirous  of  examining  the  interior  of  this  castle,  I 
entered  with  several  persons  who  accompanied  me  through 
an  opening  rather  narrow,  and  by  the  aid  of  lighted  candles 
which  were  constantly  extinguished  by  the  multitude  of  bats 
which  flew  out  very  swiftly,  with  much  inconvenience 
and  difficulty,  we  arrived  at  a  passage  two  yards  in  width, 
and  three  in  height.  The  roof  of  this  is  made  of  pieces  of 
sand-stone  roughly  cut,  a  little  more  than  four  yards  in 
length.  On  both  sides  of  this  passage  are  rooms  a  little 
more  than  four  yards  wide  roofed  with  large  blocks  of  sand 
stone  half  a  yard  thick,  and  from  two  and  a  half  to  three- 
quarters  of  a  yard  wide.  Its  walls  are  two  yards  in  thickness, 
and  contain  some  apertures  which  are  supposed  to  have  been 
left  for  the  admission  of  air  and  light.  In  the  floor  of  one 
of  these  is  the  entrance  to  a  very  narrow  subterranean  way, 
which,  we  have  been  informed  by  some  persons  who  have 
explored  it  with  a  light  for  a  considerable  distance,  leads 
under  the  river  to  the  opposite  bank.  From  this  passage 
way  they  have  extracted  several  small  idols,  vases  of  stone, 
instruments  of  copper  and  silver,  and  the  skeleton  of  an 
Indian  sitting.  The  direction  is  from  east  to  west. 

At  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  league  west  of  the  town 
and  on  the  summit  of  a  mountain  called  Posoc,  which  signi 
fies  a  u  thing  which  is  ripe,"  is  found  another  ruined  castle 
which  externally  presents  what  seems  a  mass  of  rubbish,  but 
we  are  assured  that  in  the  interior  are  found  saloons  and  a 
subterranean  way  which  communicates  with  the  castle  men 
tioned  in  the  last  paragraph.  It  is  asserted  that  a  Spaniard 
obtained  from  it  a  treasure  with  which  he  went  to  the  capital, 
and  before  dying  in  the  hospital  of  Lima,  gave  up  a  journal 
of  his  doings,  which  has  passed  through  many  hands.  Some 


284  PEKU. 

persons  made  an  attempt  to  enter  the  passage,  but  were  pre 
vented  by  the  jutting  out  of  a  stone  which  impeded  the  pas 
sage.  The  majority  of  the  houses  of  Chavin  and  its  environs 
are  constructed  over  aqueducts.  The  bridge  which  must  be 
crossed  in  order  to  reach  the  castles  is  made  of  three' stones  of 
wrought  granite,  each  one  of  which  is  eight  yards  in  length, 
three-quarters  wide,  and  half  a  yard  thick,  all  taken  from 
these  fortresses.  In  the  house  of  the  curate  are  two  figures 
cut  in  sand-stone  ;  they  are  two  yards  in  length,  and  a  half 
in  height,  are  arranged  on  each  side  of  the  street  door,  and 
were  brought  from  the  castle  for  this  purpose. 

Fatigued,  and  at  the  same  time  pleased  with  my  laborious 
investigation,  I  rested  myself  upon  some  blocks  of  granite 
more  than  three  yards  in  length,  which  had  engraved  upon 
them  certain  characters  or  designs  which  I  could  not  decipher, 
but  which  were  identical  with  those  which  I  met  with  at  the 
entrance  of  the  subterranean  passage  near  the  river.  As  I  sat 
there  my  imagination  rapidly  called  up  all  the  ancient  places 
I  had  visited,  and  the  great  events  which  took  place  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest.  With  saddened  feelings  I  lifted  my  eyes 
toward  the  ruins  of  this  silent  spot,  and  saw  the  deplorable 
relics  of  the  depredations  committed  by  our  ancient  oppressors. 

Three  centuries  have  not  been  sufficient  to  efface  from 
memory  the  infinite  evils  sustained  by  the  peaceable  and 
simple  inhabitants  of  the  Andes,  and  even  then  I  almost 
seemed  to  see  the  waters  of  the  small  torrent  dyed  with 
the  blood  of  the  victims;  I  could  imagine  the  rubbish 
on  the  banks  to  be  but  heaps  of  corpses,  upon  which  fanati 
cism  seated  itself,  and  erected  its  throne  to  tyranny,  and  from 
whence  it  thanked  God  that  it  had  accomplished  the  work 
of  destruction. 

Carried  away  by  such  sad  meditations,  and  compassion 
ating  the  unhappy  fate  of  a  nation  so  laborious  and  wise,  I  could 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  285 

fancy  that  I  heard  from  the  bottom  of  the  subterranean  passage, 
as  it  were,  a  voice  which  said  to  me :  '  Traveller,  what  motives 
induce  you  to  wander  over  these  silent  spots,  to  remove  rub 
bish,  and  to  tread  upon  ashes  which  time  has  respected,  not 
withstanding  men  are  pleased  to  depreciate  them  ?  Are  not 
the  facts  furnished  by  history  sufficient  to  prove  to  you  our 
greatness,  simplicity,  hospitality,  and  love  of  labor?  Per 
chance,  better  witnesses  of  the  opulence  of  our  ancestors 
will  be  found  in  the  remains  of  monuments  that  escaped  the 
bloody  sword  of  the  inhuman  conqueror,  than  can  be  seen 
in  the  theft  of  our  wealth,  the  plunder  of  our  cities,  the 
treachery  to,  and  death  of  our  adored  Incas,  of  our  wise 
men,  and  of  our  nobles !  He  who  denies  the  persecutions 
and  torments  which  we  endured,  the  evil  which  was  done 
to  our  country,  to  arts  and  humanity,  may  as  well  assert 
that  the  Sun,  our  father,  does  not  contribute,  with  his  reviv 
ing  heat,  to  the  development  of  moving  life,  and  that  the 
high  and  majestic  Cordillera  does  not  enclose  within  its 
bosom  the  mighty  veins  of  precious  metals,  which  were  the 
primal  cause  of  our  ruin.' 

The  history  of  the  conquest  of  Peru  presents  to  us  nothing 
but  sad  details  of  vengeance,  of  sordid  passions,  and  a  pro 
pensity  to  destroy  all  which ,  might  illustrate  our  story  to 
future  generations  ;  so  that  although  we  have  consulted  seve 
ral  authors  of  different  epochs,  they  either  repeat  what  others 
have  said,  or  pass  over  in  silence  the  most  remarkable  events ; 
and  as  shortly  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  the  Inca 
Huascar  perished  at  the  hands  of  Atahuallpa,  and  also  almost 
all  the  nobility  who,  as  we  have  already  said,  were  the  only 
ones  who  were  learned  in  the  history  of  the  country  and  in 
the  reading  of  the  Quippos,  we  are  left  in  complete  ignorance 
of  the  origin  of  these  nations,  and  of  the  great  conqueror  and 
legislator,  Manco-Capac. 


286  PERU. 

Let  us  profit  by  this  example :  we  will  strive  at  least  for 
the  preservation  as  far  as  is  possible  of  the  precious  relics 
of  our  ancestors.  "We  will  not  be  accused  by  future  gen 
erations  of  indolence,  destruction  and  ignorance. 

Near  the  present  pueblo,  La  Fortaliza,  to  the  north  of  the 
gate  of  Pativillca,  are  found  the  ruins  of  Paramanca.  Dr. 
Unanue  (ISTuevo  dia  del  Peru,  Trujillo,  1824),  differing  in 
opinion  from  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  thinks  that  the  edifices 
of  Paramanca  should  not  be  called  fortresses,  because  their 
construction  does  not  warrant  the  title ;  neither  in  his  opin 
ion  were  they  erected  to  perpetuate  the  pride  and  pomp  of 
Yupanqui  and  humiliation  of  Chimu,  but  simply  to  preserve 
the  memory  of  both  chiefs,  the  most  powerful  of  Peru,  who 
met  here,  to  celebrate  the  peace  and  bind  more  closely  their 
friendship;  for  which  reason,  one  of  these  edifices  is  erected 
toward  the  east,  being  the  most  elevated,  indicating  the  dig 
nity  and  extension  of  the  empire ;  the  other  toward  the 
west,  but  more  humble  in  appearance,  indicating  the  districts 
of  Chimu. 

This  interpretation  seems  to  us  erroneous.  Not  only  the 
construction  of  these  edifices,  which  pertains  undoubtedly  to 
fortifications,  but  also  their  situation,  is  opposed  to  the  opin 
ion  of  the  learned  Unanue.  If  the  larger  had  betokened  the 
empire  of  the  Incas,  its  direction  would  have  been  toward 
the  south,  and  that  of  the  smaller  toward  the  north.  The 
only  high  road  the  whole  length  of  the  coast,  leads  between 
the  two  fortified  eminences ;  by  means  of  them  the  entrance 
to  the  kingdom  of  Chimu  might  be  closed.  The  Incas  knew 
from  long  experience,  that  the  conquered  nations  were  easily 
excited,  and  therefore  always  held  themselves  in  readiness 
against  them.  Yery  distrustful  might  Gapac-  Yupanqui  well 
be  of  an  enemy  so  fearful  and  obstinate  as  Chimu-  Canchu, 
who  had  only  surrendered  after  a  long-continued  resistance, 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  287 

and  it  is  very  probable  that  that  cautious  general  caused 
these  edifices  to  be  constructed  as  fortresses,  in  order  to  curb 
the  nations  recently  subjugated,  and  not  as  monuments  of 
victory ;  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Incas,  were 
always  erected  in  the  capital  of  the  empire.  In  the  opinion 
of  some  authors  Chimu-Canchu  erected  these  edifices  as 
frontier  posts,  which  is  very  probable,  since  the  king  Ganchu, 
long  before  he  was  attacked  by  Capac-  Yupanqui,  was  engaged 
in  a  cruel  war  with  Cuyz  Mancu,  chief  of  Pachacamac,  and 
Chuqy.iz  Mancu,  chief  of  Runahuanac.  In  the  valley  of  Para- 
manca,  took  place  the  first  but  indecisive  battle  between 
Chimu  and  Capac- Yupanqui.  The  etymology  of  the  name, 
Paramanca,  gives  us  no  clue  to  the  nature  of  these  edifices. 
There  are  authors  who  write  Parumonga,  others  Paramanca: 
but  in  our  opinion,  Paramanca  is  the  true  name.  Let  us  hear 
the  words  of  an  author  in  favor  of  the  opinion  we  express : 
"  At  the  entrance  to  Patavilka,  on  one  side,  exist  the  fortresses 
ordered  to  be  constructed  by  Inca  Yupanqui,  which  sufficient 
ly  mark  the  extensive  knowledge  of  the  Indians  in  military 
architecture.  On  a  small  mountain  contiguous  to  the  moun 
tain  oiVendebarato,  is  seen  a  quadrilateral  fortress,  with  three 
enclosures  of  walls  commanding  the  interior :  the  longer  is 
three  hundred  yards,  and  the  shorter  two  hundred.  Within 
the  innermost  enclosure  are  several  dwelling-houses,  sepa 
rated  by  narrow  passages  and  streets.  About  thirty  yards 
from  each  angle  of  the  inner  enclosure  are  found  some  bas 
tions,  which  flank  the  curtains.  There  is  also  seen  on  the 
side  a  high  escarpment,  facing  the  sea,  in  which  are  three 
semicircular  walls,  which  are  called  the  gallows,  and  were 
used  as  a  prison  for  delinquents."  . 

Toward  the  south,  two  leagues  from  Chancay,  near  the 
farm  of  Chancaylla,  are  ruins  of  subterranean  depositories, 
which  according  to  tradition  were  erected  by  the  Incas  during 


288  PERU. 

the  campaign  of  Capac-  Yupanqui,  against  Chimu,  to  keep  an 
abundant  supply  of  provisions  for  the  army,  which  counted 
in  its  three  divisions  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men. 

The  ruins  of  Pachacamac,  seven  leagues  from,  the  capital 
of  Lima,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pleasant  town  of  Lurin,  are 
very  much  dilapidated,  and  present  but  little  interesting 
in  their  architecture ;  though  they  are  interesting  in  their 
extent,  and  in  the  particulars  of  their  history. 

On  the  conical  elevation  near  the  bank  of  the  sea,  four 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  feet  above  its  level,  are  found  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  temple  of  Pachacamac.  At  the  foot  of 
this  hill  are  seen,  at  the  present  day,  the  decayed  walls  of 
the  edifices  which  were  intended  to  receive  the  strangers  who 
came  on  pilgrimage  from  the  most  distant  provinces  of  the 
empire,  to  present  their  offerings  to  the  Deity.  The  whole 
was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  adobes,  nine  feet  in  width,  and 
probably  of  considerable  height,  for  some  parts  of  it  are 
twelve  feet  in  height,  although  in  its  average  extent  it  is 
not  more  than  four  or  five.  The  material  throughout  the 
whole  fabric  is  not  hewn  stone,  as  in-  the  edifices  of  Cuzco, 
but  adobes,  easily  crumbled.  The  upper  part  of  the  high 
land  or  ridge,  which  is  about  one  hundred  feet  high,  is  arti 
ficially  formed  by  walls,  each  one  thirty-two  feet  in  height, 
and  from  seven  to  eight  wide.  In  the  most  elevated  parts  is 
seen  the  temple,  with  the  sanctuary  of  the  Deity  on  the  side 
toward  the  sea.  Its  door  was  of  gold,  richly  inlaid  with 
precious  stones  and  coral ;  but  the  interior  was  obscure  and 
dirty,  this  being  the  spot  chosen  by  the  priests  for  their 
bloody  sacrifices  before  the  idol  of  wood,  placed  at  the 
bottom  of  the  enclosure,  the  worship  of  which  succeeded  the 
pure  and  abstract  worship  of  the  invisible  Pachacamac.  At 
present  there  remain  of  this  temple  some  niches  only, 
which,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Ciega  de  Leon,  con- 


290  PERL'. 

tained  representations  of  several  wild  beasts ;  and  we 
have  detached  fragments  of  paintings  of  animals,  made  on 
the  wall,  upon  the  whitewashed  clay.  ^Ye  can,  however, 
still  distinguish  the  place  of  the  sanctuary,  according  to  the 
description  of  the  early  chroniclers.  The  opinion  •  is  erro 
neous  which  deems  these  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of  the  Sun ; 
it  is  one,  however,  which  has  been  adopted  by  almost  all 
modern  authors,  although  diametrically  opposed  to  that  of 
the  historians  contemporaneous  with  the  conquest,  as  well  as 
to  the  account  given  by  Hernando  Pizarro,  brother  of  Fran 
cisco,  and  destroyer  of  the  temple. 

Outside  of  this  edifice  there  were  in  Pachacamac  a  temple 
of  the  Sun,  a  royal  palace,  and  a  house  of  virgins ;  monu 
ments  erected « by  the  Incas  Pachacutec  and  Yupanqui. 
According  to  our  investigations,  the  temple  of  the  Sun  ex 
tended  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  on  which  was  situated 
the  temple  of  Pachacamac,  toward  the  north-east ;  on  the 
side  toward  the  north-west,  as  far  as  the  lake  of  sweet  water, 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  from  the  south-east  of  the 
temple  of  Pachacamac,  to  the  house  of  the  chosen  virgins. 
The  settlement  is  found  all  around  these  edifices  from  the 
side  of  the  estate  of  San  Pedro,  of  the  deserted  San  Juan, 
and  of  the  existing  town  of  Lurin.  Near  the  latter  we 
notice  the  ancient  cemetery,  which  attests  better  than  any 
other  proof  how  thickly  populated  in  ancient  times  was  the 
valley  of  Pachacamac,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  temple. 
The  treasures  with  which  this  edifice  abounded  were  such 
that  according  to  one  author,  the  value  of  the  nails  only  by 
which  they  affixed  to  the  walls  the  plates  of  gold,  amounted 
to  four  thousand  marks;  which  as  an  insignificant  trifle, 
Pizarro  gave  to  his  pilot,  Quintero.  On  the  haciendas  of 
Lomo  and  Nieveria,  and  on  the  brow  of  contiguous  moun 
tains,  are  seen  ruins  of  vast  extent  with  saloons  twenty 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES.  291 

or  twenty -five  yards  in  length,  and  six  or  eight  in  width,  of 
mud  walls,  forcing  narrow  streets  ;  indicating  that  here  was 
once  a  large  population,  and  the  palaces  of  their  princes  or 
other  great  nobles. 

Some  two  miles  from  the  shore  of  the  sea,  are  found  the 
small  islands  known  under  the  names  of  the  Farrallones, 
Santo  Dommf/o  and  Pachacamac ;  and  in  the  latter  were 
found  by  us  in  1842,  vestiges  of  an  edifice  of  considerable 
extent.  These  barren  islands  formed  part  of  the  continent 
as  promontories,  and  were  separated  by  the  terrible  earth 
quake  of  1586,  which  made  such  ravages  on  the  Peruvian 
coast. 

The  account  of  Ciefa  de  Leon  is  the  only  one  which  con 
tains  much  relating  to  New  Cuzco,  which  the  Incas  caused 
to  be  constructed  in  the  valley  of  Huarco,  and  which  was 
connected  with  the  immense  fortress  of  Huarco,  built  upon  a 
high  hill,  with  large  square  flag-stones,  and  with  a  stone 
staircase,  descending  to  the  sea.*  The  same  authority  in 
forms  us  of  the  temple  of  Guarivilca  in  the  valley  of  Jauja, 
consecrated  to  the  god  T-icevlracocha,  chief  divinity  oi*  the 
Huancas  ;  whose  singular  worship  reminds  one  of  the  my 
thology  of  the  northern  countries  of  Europe.  Notwith 
standing  the  most  scrupulous  investigations,  it  has  been 
impossible  to  find  any  vestiges  of  the  ruins  of  this  temple. 

Cieca  de  Leon  (Chronicles,  Chap.  LXXXVII.  and  Chap. 
LXXXIX.)  makes  mention,  in  few  words,  of  the  ruins  of  the 
very  ancient  and  large  edifices  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Vinaque  near  Huamanga,  which,  according  to  tradition,  were 

*  In  lower  Chincha  we  are  assured  was  a  temple  of  the  Sun  in  the  same 
situation,  where  at  present  the  convent  of  Santo-Domingo  stands,  and  in  the 
vicinities  of  the  town  of  Huancay,  district  of  Pisco,  even  yet  may  be  seen 
the  ruins  of  a  so-called  palace  ;  but  in  truth  of  a  red  Tambo,  so  named  from 
its  walls  having  preserved  this  color. 


292 


PERU. 


built  by  bearded  white  people,  who,  a  long  time  before  the 
reign  of  the  Incas,  came  to  these  parts,  and  Aade  this  their 
home ;  and  also  of  the  edifices  oi'Vilcas  built  by  order  of  the 
Inca  Yupanqui. 

The  Chulpas  which  are  seen  upon  the  hill  which  is  bath.ed 
by  the  lake  of  Clust>ni,  in  the  department  of  Puno,  present 
a  particular  construction,  and  we  know  not  whether  they 


HILL    OF    CLUSTOXI   AND   IIATUX-COLLA. 

were  dwellings,  or  served  to  keep  the  grain  and  potatoes  ;  or 
perhaps  they  were  used  as  sepulchres,  (which  seems  to  us  the 
most  probable),  since  they  also  bore  the  name  of  Huacas. 
All  those  which  we  have  examine  1  are  built  of  lime  or  sand 
stone,  mixed  with  pieces  of  micaceous  slate,  with  little  win 
dows  of  one  foot  in  height,  and  divided  in  the  centre  with 
stone  slabs,  and  covered  with  straw  or  pieces  of  stone,  similar 
to  those  of  Huamalies.* 

Among  the  ruins  of  Hatun-colla  are   observed  remains  of 

*  There  are  also  to  be  seen,  on  the  road  from  Lampa  to  Puno,  towers  of 
similar  construction. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES.  293 

monuments,  and  it  is  said  that  liere  was  the  residence  of  a 
prince,  whose  palaces  and  town  were  covered  by  the  waters 
of  the  lake,  although  history  is  silent  as  to  any  such  event. 
Herd  is  also  found  a  chair  of  stone,  (a  species  of  lava),  with  its 
back  made  of  a  single  piece,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the 
throne  of  the  Lord  of  the  place.  The  Inca  Lloque  Yupanqui, 
after  having  subjugated  the  Can-as  and  Ayaliuiris,  passed 
without  permission  to  Hatuncolla  and  Paucarcolla.  districts 
governed  by  Apus  or  Lords,  who  nevertheless  allowed  him 
to  construct  a  temple  to  the  Sun,  a  house  of  virgins,  and 
royal  palaces,  distributing  among  them  garments  and  rich 
cloths. 

AVe  have  already  spoken  of  the  baths  of  the  Iluamalies, 
and  of  the  palace  of  Limatambo :  it  now  remains  to  say 
something  of  the  ancient  monuments  which  exist  four  leagues 
from  the  bank  of  the  lake  of  Titicaca ;  and  without  doubt,  those 
which  count  more  centuries  than  any  other  remains  of  Peru 
vian  antiquity,  are  the  ruins  of  Tiahuanaco,*  which,  accord 
ing  to  history,  were  erected  in  one  single  night,  by  an  invi 
sible  hand, 


RUINS     AT    TIAHUANACO — STONES     AKOUT     SIX     OH     SKVi:N     TAItDS     HIGH — PARTLY 
CUT PARTLY   ROUGH — PLACED   IN    LIXES,    AT   REGULAR   DISTANCES. 

*  Tiahuanaco  signifies  in  the  Quichua  language  "  the  resting-place, 
Huanaco,"  and  is  a  name  which,  according  to  tradition,  was  given  to  it  by 
the  Inca  Yupanqui,  upon  the  conquest  of  the  nation  of  Aymara ;  on  ac- 
<x>unt  of  the  swiftness  with  which  his  Chasyui  or  courier  ran  to  the  place. 


294 


PERU. 


FRAGMENTS   FROM   TIAHTANACO. 


ENLARGED  VIEW   OF  MCWOLYTIIIC   GATEWAY  IN  THE   DRAWING  ABOVE. 

At  the  present  day  these  edifices  are  destroyed,  and  even 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  they  were  very  much 
dilapidated.  Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  they  were  never 
completed,  but  remained  abandoned  in  consequence  of  the 
new  worship  introduced  by  the  Incas  ;  since  there  is  no  doubt 


PERUVIAN   A1STTIQUITIES.  295 

that  they  went  back  to  an  epoch  anterior  to  the  estab 
lishment  of  the  Peruvian  dynasty.  Most  worthy  of  notice 
among  the  ruins,  are  the  fragments  of  the  statues  of  stone, 
of  which,  says  Ciega  de  Leon,  Chap.  C.  Y. :  "In  front  of  this 
hill  are  two  idols  of  stone,  cut  in  the  human  form,  very  ex 
cellently  done,  and  formed  so  well,  that  it  seems  they  must 
have  come  from  the  hands  of  great  artificers  or  masters. 
They  are  so  large  that  they  seem  like  small  giants,  and  it  is 
plain  that  they  have  a  species  of  large  garment,  different  from 
that  which  we  now  see  among  the  natives  of  these  provinces. 
Their  heads  seemed  to  contain  their  chief  ornament."  In  the 
head  of  one  of  these  statues,  the  length,  from  the  point  of 
the  beard  to  the  upper  part  of  the  ornament  of  the  head,  is 
three  feet  and  six  inches :  its  greatest  width  from  the  ex 
tremity  of  the  nose  to  the  corresponding  part  of  the  occiput 
is  two  feet  and  seven  inches.  It  is  adorned  with  a  species 
of  round  cap,  one  foot  seven  inches  in  height,  and  two  feet 
five  inches  in  width.  In  the  upper  part  are  seen  certain 
wide  and  vertical  bands  ;  in  the  lower  are  symbolical  figures 
with  human  faces.  From  ^the  ej^es,  which  are  large  and 
round,  project  to  the  chin  two  wide  bands,  each  one  with 
three  double  circles.  From  the  outer  part  of  each  eye 
descends  a  band  adorned  with  two  squares,  one  vertical 
rectangle  and  two  horizontal  lines,  terminating  in  a  serpent, 
similar  to  that  on  the  monuments.  The  nose  is  slightly  pro 
minent,  surrounded  on  the  lower  side  by  a  wide  band  semi 
circular,  and  terminating  toward  the  inner  side  of  the  eyes 
in  two  corners.  The  mouth  forms  a  transversal  oval,  gar 
nished  with  sixteen  teeth.  From  the  under  lip  projects,  in 
the  form  of  a  beard,  six  bands,  toward  the  edge  of  the  chin. 
The  ear  is  represented  by  a  semilunar  figure  in  a  square, 
and  in  the  fore-part  of  it  is  a  vertical  band  with  three  squares, 
terminating  in  the  head  of  a  wild  beast.  On  the  top  of  the 


296  PERU. 

occiput  are  squares  forming  bands,  and  on  the  neck  are  dis 
tinguished  many  human  figures.  The  sculpture  of  this  head 
is  very  remarkable,  and  bears  no  resemblance  whatever  to 
what  is  known  of  other  nations. 

No  less  worthy  of  attention  is  the  monolythic  doorway 
of  stand-stone,  sufficiently  well  preserved,  the  height  of 
which  is  ten  feet,  and  the  width  thirteen.*  In  this  block 
is  found  cut  a  door,  six  feet  four  inches  high,  and  three  feet 
two  inches  wide.  It  presents,  on  its  eastern  side,  a  cornice, 
in  the  middle  of  which  is  observed  a  human  "figure  somewhat 
similar  to  those  which  we  have  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
paragraph.  The  head  is  almost  square,  and  there  proceed 
from  it  several  rays,  among  which  are  distinguished  four 
snakes.  The  arms  are  open,  and  each  hand  holds  a  snake 
with  a  crowned  head.  The  body  is  covered  with  an  embroid 
ered  garment,  and  the  short  feet  repose  upon  a  pedestal,  also 
ornamented  with  symbolical  figures.  On  each  side  of  this 
figure  is  seen  in  the  cornice  a  certain  number  of  small  squares, 
in  rows,  each  one  containing  a  human  figure  in  profile,  in  the 
position  of  going,  with  a  species  of  walking-stick  in  the  hand ; 
those  of  the  middle  row  differ  from  those  of  the  upper  and 
lower  ones.  The  other  ruins  present  no  interesting  particu 
lar,  but  the  great  size  of  the  sculptured  stones  with  which 
they  are  constructed  is  very  remarkable. 

In  the  }^ear  1846,  General  Ballivian  being  President,  and 
Bon  Manuel  Guerra,  Prefect  of  la  Paz.  several  excavations 
were  made,  in  order  to  disinter,  or  seek  for,  what  was  re 
markable,  and  all  that  was  found  were  some  idols, f  and  some 
sculptured  masses  of  large  dimensions  which  have  served  to 

*  Another  monolythical  door,  smaller,  seven  feet  in  height,  is  drawn 
upon  the  ground.  (See  the  same  plate.) 

t  An  idol  of  stone  which  was  brought  from  Tiahuanaco  to  the  city  of 
la  Paz,  in  the  year  1842,  is  3|  yards  in  length,  and  half  a  yard  in  width. 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


297 


make  stones  for  grinding  chocolate ;  thus  destroying  monu 
ments  which  ought  to  be  preserved  as  relics  of  antiquity. 
These  large  masses  were  ten  yards  in  length,  six  in  width, 
and  of  the  thickness  of  more  than  two  yards,  and  were  so  cut, 
that,  when  resting  on  each  other,  their  junction  formed  a 
channel  between  them.  There  are  other  masses  of  stone,  in 
the  direction  of  the  lake,  which  have  remained  in  the  road 
for  reasons  which  we  know  not. 


RUIN    ON    THE    ISLAM)    OK    TITIUACA,     IN     LAKK    TITICACA. 

On  the  island  of  Titicaca,  in  the  lake  of  the  same  name, 
where,  according  to  tradition,  fell  the  first  rays  of  the  Sun  to 
illuminate  the  world  after  the  deluge,  and  where  the  benefi 
cent  orb  sent  his  favorite  children,  Manco-Capac  and  Mama 
Ocllo,  to  civilize  the  barbarous  hordes  of  Peru,  the  Incas  in 
troduced  a  worship  to  the  protecting  Deity  ;  the  ruins,  though 
not  very  imposing,  are  found  at  the  present  day  well  pre 
served.  They  are  all  made  of  hewn  stone,  with  windows 
and  doors,  with  posts  and  thresholds  of  hewn  stone  also, 
these  being  wider  below  than  above. 
13* 


298 


PERU. 


The  architecture  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  ruins  of  the  edi 
fice  more  nearly  destroyed,  in  the  island  of  Coati,  in  the  same 
lake ;  whether  it  were  a  palace  or  a  temple,  we  cannot  de 
cide.  Its  interior  decorations  seem  to  have  been  similar  to 
those  seen  at  Cuzco.  The  quantity  of  offerings  of  gold  and  sil 
ver,  piled  up  in  the  island,  was  such,  that  the  traditions  of  the 
Indians  on  this  point  exceed  the  limits  of  probability.  In 
treating  of  this  subject,  Father  Bias  Valero  tells  us,  such  was 
the  richness  of  the  temple,  that,  according  to  the  account  of 
the  Mitimacos  or  transplanted  Indians  who  live  in  Capuca- 
bana,  of  what  remained  in  gold  and  silver  might  have  been 
constructed  another  temple  from  the  foundation  to  the  top, 
and  without  mixture  of  any  other  material ;  and  also  that 
these  treasures  the  Indians  threw  into  the  lake,  as  soon  as  they 
knew  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  and  their  thirst  for  gold. 
(Garcilasso  De  La  Vega,  I.  Eoyal  Com.  Book  III.  Chap. 
XXV.) 


-INTERIOR  OP  AN  APARTMENT  IN   THE   EDIFICE   ON  THE   ISLAND   OF  COATI,   LAKE  > 

TITICACA. 


In  vain  have  we  scanned  the  writings  of  all  the  ancient 
Peruvian  Chroniclers,  to  obtain  particulars  respecting  the  for 
tress  and  palace  of  Ollantay-Tambo,  ten  leagues  distant  to  the 
north  of  the  capital  of  the  empire,  and  situated  in  a  narrow 
tract  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Urubamba. 


PERUVIAN   ANTIQUITIES. 


299 


ii'.'JJLJJlJHLLLH 


/OMtTHfS. 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  THE  TEMPLE  REPRESENTED  IN  THE  FRONTISPIECE. 

This  strong  defence  might  well  have  been  considered  by 
the  Incas  as  very  important,  not  only  on  account  of  its  im 
posing  position,  being  as  it  were  the  key  to  the  Antis,  Pillco- 
patos  and  Tonos  nations,  who  inhabited,  as  we  know,  the 
valleys  of  Paucartambo  tmd.,Santana;  but  also  on  account  of 
its  singular  construction,  which  differed  from  the  edifices  of 
Cuzco,  and  of  all  other  parts  of  the  empire;  which  in 
duces  us  to  suppose  that  it  dates  its  origin  from  remote 
centuries,  and  that  the  prince  or  lord  of  this  territory  was 
independent  of,  and  contemporaneous  with  the  first  founder, 
and  was  not  conquered  until  the  latter  reigns  of  the  Incas. 

They  relate  several  traditions  respecting  this  personage, 
one  of  which  we  have  mentioned  as  forming  the  subject  of 
the  drama  mentioned  in  a  previous  page.  Others  tell  us 
that  Ollantay  being  surprised  in  the  house  of  the  virgins  of 
the  Sun,  a  crime  punishable  with  death,  the  penalty  was 
commuted  to  degradation  from  his  high  rank. 

Being  after  some  time  restored  to  his  fortress,  he  rebelled 
against  the  Inca  Yupanqui,  who  not  being  able  to  conquer 
him,  notwithstanding  the  men  and  time  which  he  sacri- 


300 


PERU. 


ficed,  adopted  a  plan  suggested  by  a  chief;  viz. ;  that  they 
should  punish  him  (the  chief)  publicly,  thereby  giving  him 
sufficient  inducement  to  pass  over  to  the  enemy,  and  that 
they  should  be  unsuspicious  of  any  stratagem;  that  once 


THE  TOWN  AND  FORTRESS  OP  OLLANTAT-TAMBO. 

admitted,  he  should  endeavor  to  inspire  the  rebel  with  con 
fidence,  communicating  to  him  certain  secrets  and  measures 
which  they  thought  of  taking,  in  order  to  attack  him  anew  : 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


301 


that  by  this  means  the  spy  should  attain  a  correct  knowledge 
of  the  place,  and  of  the  intentions  and  projects  of  Ollantay ; 
that  finally,  upon  the  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  Ollan 
tay,  when  they  gave  themselves  up  to  all  sorts  of  diversions 
and  disorders,  he  should  plead  to  be  appointed  chief  of  one 
of  the  gates,  and  upon  a  concerted  signal,  should  open  it  for 
the  entrance  of'the  imperial  troops. 


THE  WALL  WHICH  SHUTS    IX  THE    FORTRESS    ABOVE,  SHOWING    ALSO   THE  GALLERIES 
OR  TERRACES  WHICH  LEAD  TO  THE  TOP  OF  THE  CASTLE,  OLLAXTAY-TAMBO. 


Such  an  iniquitous  plan  having  been  accepted  by  the  Inca, 
he  gave  orders  for  everything  requisite  to  its  execution,  and 
thus  at  last,  as  proposed,  they  entered  the  fortress,  killing 
and  destroying  all  whom  they  met  in  their  passage,  but  were 
unable  to  take  Ollantay,  who  defended  himself  with  gallantry, 


302  PEEU. 

preferring  to  cast  himself  from  the  steepest  part  of  the  rock, 
sooner  than  give  himself  up  to  his  enemies. 

The  silence  which  Garcilasso  maintains  upon  this  event,  the 
little  confidence  which  would  be  felt  in  any  chief  punished 
by  the  intrepid  and  sagacious  Yupanqui,  in  order  that  he 
might  gain  the  fortress,  give  us  cause  to  suspect,  and  not 
without  reason,  that  this  is  a  story  very  rraich  disfigured, 
and  that  there  were  other  causes  for  the  war  which  was 
declared.  We  know  that  Yahuar-Huaccac,  son  of  Inca  Rocca^ 
conquered,  by  order  of  his  father,  the  provinces  beyond  the 
Andes,  passing  over  this  and  other  fortified  points  in  his 
march,  which  is  a  proof  that  they  were  already  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Incas. 

The  fortress  is  constructed  upon  a  steep  eminence.  A 
stone  staircase  leads  to  terraces,  which  you  pass  by  narrow 
ways,  until  you  reach  the  top,  where  may  be  seen  tables  of 
stone  more  than  four  yards  in  height,  and  set  on  end. 

A  part  of  this  hill  or  ridge  seems  to  have  been  made  by 
hand,  presenting  a  precipice  on  the  side  of  the  river,  into 
which,  we  are  informed,  criminals  were  thrown.  Before 
entering  the  town,  which  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  fortress,  you 
pass  through  a  portal,  joined  to  large  walls  built  of  enormous 
masses  of  hewn  stone;  on  these  walls  are  seen  many  sentry- 
boxes,  which  face  the  south. 

These  relics  we  believe  to  be,  as  we  have  already  said, 

anterior  to  those  of  Cuzco. 

Among  the  many  remains  of  antiquity  which  even  yet 

exist  in  the  city  of  Cuzco,*  we  distinguish  those  of  the  street 

*  Some  authors,  ancient  as  well  as  modern,  are  accustomed  to  use  the 
article  in  speaking  of  the  city  of  Cuzco,  without  doubt  resting  on  the 
very  problematical  etymology  given  by  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  who  pre 
tends  that  the  word  Cuzco,  in  the  private  language  of  the  Incas,  meant 


PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES. 


303 


of  Triunfo,  where  is  seen  part  of  the  wall  of  the  ancient 
house  of  the  virgins  of  the  Sun,  constructed  in  a  Cyclo 
pean  manner.  In  it  is  found  a  very  large  stone,  known 
under  the  name  of  the  "stone  of  the  twelve  corners,"  and 
it  is  in  reality  so  shaped  that  it  presents  twelve  distinct 
angles. 


In  many  parts  of  the  city  may  be  seen  remains,  more  or 
less  considerable,  of  ancient  walls  and  other  architectural 
monuments. 

Among  the  most  celebrated  and  interesting  of  these  are 

"navel;"  other  authors  do  not  use  the  article,  and  in  our  work  we  have 
followed  their  example,  as  being  more  correct  and  conformable  to  the 
grammatical  rules  of  the  Castilian  language,  although  the  general  use  is  in 
favor  of  the  article. 

We  have  also  preferred  to  write  Cuzco  instead  of  Cozco,  as  is  done  by 
the  greater  part  of  the  old  chroniclers. 


304  PERU. 

the  ruins  of  the  supposed  palace  of  Manco-  Capac,  on  the  de 
clivity  of  the  hill  of  /Sacsahuaman,  upon  a  sort  of  level,  where 
is  also  found  the  church  of  San-Cristoval,  which  conceals  a 
part  of  these  ruins.  This  extensive  edifice,  constructed,  ac 
cording  to  tradition,  by  the  first  Inca,  had  terraces  with  walls 
three  and  a  half  or  four  yards  high,  and  long  in  proportion. 
They  were  reached  by  a  staircase  passing  through  a  narrow 
opening,  until  it  came  out  on  an  extensive  enclosure,  the 
wall  of  which  was  some  yards  high,  and  contained  niches  or 
cupboards,  narrower  above  than  below,  but  for  what  purpose 
designed  we  know  not.  On  this  same  terrace  are  seen,  even 
at  the  present  day,  the  remains  of  edifices  which  must  have 
been  large,  and  of  which  there  is  preserved  but  one, window. 
There  are  also  seen  the  remains  of  transverse  walls  laid  upon 
terraces.  The  material  of  these  walls  is  a  dirty  white  limestone. 
Over  the  fortress  and  in  front  of  those  interesting  relics  of 
antiquity  are  found  arranged  three  crosses  as  a  substitute  for 
the  banners  which  in  remote  centuries  floated  there,  indicat 
ing  the  residences  of  the  children  of  the  Sun.  These  are 
the  symbols  of  Christianity  which  have  taken  place  of  the 
signs  and  idols  of  heliacal  worship;  and  although  their 
planting  cost  immense  sacrifices  and  many  victims,  the  be 
nign  institutions  of  Christianity,  founded  upon  the  word  of 
the  true  God,  have  scattered  rich  fruits  in  the  depressed 
minds  of  this  poor  nation,  and  on  its  pure  and  humanizing 
worship  alone  can  national  prosperity  be  founded. 

Here  concludes  our  volume,  in  which,  moved  by  respect 
for  the  public,  to  whom  we  have  addressed  ourselves,  and 
by  our  love  for  Peruvian  antiquity,  we  have  spared  neither 
time  nor  fatigue,  neither  travels,  reading,  nor  experience,  nor, 
in  one  word,  anything  which  might  tend  to  the  success  of 
our  undertaking.  "We  have  gathered  all  the  materials 


PERUVIAN   A<STIQUITIE3.  305 

which  we  have  been  able  to  meet  with,  have  classified  the 
curiosities  of  all  kinds  which  it  has  been  possible  for  us  to 
collect,  and  have  endeavored  to  illustrate  them  by  the  aid  of 
the  pencil. 

We  have  described,  under  its  different  aspects,  the  nation, 
perhaps  the  most  refined  in  the  New  World,  and  certainly 
the  most  distinguished  in  character,  the  most  surprising  in 
customs  and  records,  the  most  attractive  to  an  imaginative 
temperament,  on  account  of  the  medium  in  which  it  is,  as 
it  were,  enveloped — a  medium  misty,  and  on  which  the  dawn 
is  just  breaking,  showing  the  effect  of  the  struggle  between 
the  opening  light  of  civilization  and  the  darkness  of  ignorance. 
If  liberty,  the  idol  of  our  fathers,  was  almost  unknown  to 
the  vassals  of  the  Incas,  it  is  also  certain  that  there  reigned 
among  them  almost  an  equality,  a  spirit  of  fraternity,  a 
sincere  love  for  their  sovereigns,  bound  to  their  subjects  by 
innumerable  and  reciprocal  benefits,  which  formed  the  basis 
of  peace  and  concord,  and  the  link  between  the  monarch 
and  the  nation.  If  our  forefathers,  in  the  country  which  we 
adore,  were  found  unable  to  rival  refined  Europe  in  the 
splendor  of  science,  the  luxurious  display  of  the  arts,  and 
superior  tactics  in  war ;  we  must  nevertheless  acknowledge 
that  as  little  were  they  found  infested  with  the  leprosy  of 
pauperism,  the  corroding  ulcer  of  prostitution,  with  the  many 
evils  which  desolate  transatlantic  countries.  Eeligion,  policy, 
agriculture  formed  a  whole  in  those  regions,  whose  inhabi 
tants  fell  in  hecatombs  under  the  ever-reeking  sword  of 
insatiable  avarice  and  implacable  fanaticism.  The  policy  of 
the  Incas  had  solved  many  problems  which  still  engage  the 
attention  of  the  most  vigorous  European  intellects. 

May  this  publication  arouse  from  its  lethargy  Peruvian 
youth,  may  our  disclosures  quicken  its  enthusiasm,  and 
make  them  understand  that  the  very  dust  they  tread  on, 


306  PERU. 

palpitated,  lived,  felt,  thought  in  olden  times;  that  justice 
must  be  awarded  sooner  or  later  to  each  individual,  each 
nation ;  that  Babylon,  Egypt,  Greece  and  Eome  are  not  the 
only  empires  which  serve  as  food  to  a  generous  imagination  ; 
that  at  their  feet  lies  stretched  a  ship  wrecked  civilization ;  that 
their  footsteps  are  disturbing  an  archaeological  mine,  no  less  rich 
and  opulent  than  the  most  celebrated  mines  of  gold  and  silver 
of  their  own  country,  and  like  them,  too,  scarce  covered  with  a 
light  coat  of  sand ;  that  a  thousand  remembered  lyrics,  and  in 
numerable  dramatic  scenes,  that  the  wisest  political  and  moral 
counsels  ought  to  bud  forth  from  a  world  which,  though  dead, 
yet  may  be  galvanized  into  life,  by  study  and  artistic  en 
thusiasm.  Above  all,  may  it  communicate  its  ardor  to  and 
govern  public  opinion,  that  queen  of  the  world,  that  impetu 
ous  current  which  should  draw  into  its  stream  alike  governors 
and  governed,  so  that  by  moral  authority,  and  innumerable 
other  resources,  they  might  undertake  the  gigantic  work  of 
the  regeneration  of  the  past. 

Happy  indeed  should  we  esteem  ourselves,  if  our  labors 
might  be  crowned  by  seeing  the  wise  and  the  skilful  asso 
ciated  under  the  direction  of  an  intelligent,  active  and  pater 
nal  government,  like  that  of  those  children  of  the  Sun,  the 
Incas;  and  under  its  auspices,  Peruvian  civilization  rising 
from  the  dust  which  covers  it,  as  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum, 
in  these  latter  days,  have  come  forth  from  the  lava  which  for 
centuries  has  entombed  them. 


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